
Book • 






' o o k 



COMPENDIOUS 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 



FROM THE 



JSarltest HfrevioH to tiie present Sftne. 



BY 



THE REV. WILLIAM PALMER, M.A. 

U 

OF WORCESTER COLLEGE OXFORD, AUTHOR OF ORIGINES 

LITURGICiE, &C. &C. 



WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES, BY AN 
AMERICAN EDITOR. 



FIFTH EDITION. 

WITH A SERIES OF QUESTIONS, ADAPTING THE WORK FOR 
PAROCHIAL INSTRUCTION. 



NEW-YORK: 
STANFORD & SWORDS, 139 BROADWAY, 

late 

SWORDS, STANFORD <fc CO. 

1844. 



3 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1841, 

By SWORDS, STANFORD & CO. 

In the Clerks office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York 



In Exchange 
Duke University 
UTl 1 2 1933 



Stereotyped by Vincent L. Dill, 
128 Fulton Street, New- York. 



PREFACE. 



It is strange that a work like this should have been 
so long wanting in English literature. Rich as our lan- 
guage is in history, it possesses, as yet, no tolerable history 
of the Church of God. The scholar can in a degree 
make up this want by a resort to other sources : but 
those whose reading is confined to their native language, 
and those whose little leisure affords no time for re- 
search, or the study of bulky works, have had nothing 
really worth attention, on this subject, within their 
reach. 

Dry abridgments or still drier compends, crowding 
the memory with names and dates, and little else, are 
not what is needed for general information on the most 
interesting of all topics that can occupy the attention 

of a thinking man the rise and progress of the 

society of which God is the Head, souls bought and 
washed with the most precious blood of Christ the 
members, and eternity the exclusive end and aim. The 
existence of such a society among men, its continuance^ 



VI PREFACE. 

its propagation, and its more or less visible success, are 
facts, that taken in connection with its claims, have a 
direct and fearfully important interest for every mem- 
ber of the human family. It is with reference to that 
interest that they ought to be treated, at least for popular 
use. Catalogues of heresies, maps of the extension 
and contraction of Christendom in successive ages, and 
schemes of controversies that have raged and waned, 
all useful in their way, are of little use to the man w r ho 
is seeking after evidence of the accomplishment of the 
ends for which the Son of God assumed our nature, 
and when He had ascended to the right hand of the 
Majesty on high, sent forth the promise of His Father 
upon those whom He had sent into the world as He 
Himself was sent. The effectual working of Him 
who, in the fulness of the power and wisdom of 
the Godhead, dwells invisibly in the visible body 
that he organised and animates, is not to be learned 
from the weary and disgustful annals of contests be- 
tween rival hierarchies, and intrigues of ecclesiastics 
with or against the civil power ; still less from the re- 
volting exhibition of human frailty and perversity con- 
taminating the provisions of infinite Love and Wisdom, 
an exhibition necessarily prominent in the chronicles of 
the Church, but most unnecessary to any true and ade- 
quate estimate of its real efficiency. All analogy and 
all experience bid us look for that efficiency in unob- 
trusive quietness and seclusion. " The works of the 
flesh are manifest," and accordingly attract, wherever 
sinful man w T orks out the designs of GOD, the super- 
ficial observer's gaze. " The fruits of the Spirit," mean- 
while, w T hich are the tests of the fulfilment of the Sa- 
viour's promise to be ever with His body, lie hidden be- 
neath the surface of society, and must be diligently 



PREFACE. Vll: 

sought for, and painfully dragged forth to view, before 
their evidence can be appreciated. The many whom 
the means of God's providing have silently nurtured 
up in faith and holiness have passed to their reward 
without leaving a trace behind on the page of history. 
The few who stand there recorded as exceptions from 
the mass of brawling strife and base ambition have 
been drawn from among their fellows by the demands 
of duty, growing out of official station or extraordinary 
endowments. Such must always be the minority in the 
records of the Church ; and it is as strange as lamenta- 
ble that most of its historians seem to have lost sight of 
a truth so obvious, and while they either gloat or rave 
on the corruption of the clergy and the vile degeneracy 
of the laity, forget that a similar mode of estimation 
would go far toward the reduction of the past to one 
vast blot, and the banishment of virtue, peace and hap- 
piness from memory or belief. 

This work has been prepared on a different plan. Its 
truly learned and sound-minded author has set him- 
self honestly to seek out the results of the system de- 
vised by heavenly Wisdom and set in operation by 
God Himself, when He dwelt among us. He does not 
puzzle himself and his reader with an attempt at a 
" pragmatical"* investigation of the human motives 
and propensities that have carried on, while they seemed 
to thwart and vitiate, the divine counsels for man's sal- 
vation. Still less does he stoop to flatter the poor pride 
of human reason by lowering a narrative of God's 
doings with and in His Church to the tone of secular 
history, and making all plain and easy for the most un- 
spiritual comprehension. He writes as a believer of 
the facts that he narrates ; but not a believer without 

* See Mosheim's Preface. 



Vlll PREFACE. 



investigation. He writes as one whose own belief 
makes him in earnest with his reader, and in conse- 
quence leaves the impression of reality on the mind. 
Convinced that God did indeed found His Church up- 
on a rock, immoveable and unconquerable, he looks for 
it, without fear or shrinking, amid the worst tem- 
pests of controversial strife or secular oppression, and 
under the deepest mists of ignorance and error, and 
not only finds it, signalized by its unvarying tokens of 
peace, holiness and joy, but makes it obvious to others. 
We see, with him, that though times have changed, and 
manners varied, the word and promises of God have 
endured unchanged and their accomplishment has gone 
on invariably. 

In this respect, Mr. Palmer's design is the same with 
that of the pious Milner. But, beside its greater com- 
pendiousness, so much better suited for popular use, 
this work has the advantage of much better execution. 
The decided bias which so often sways the judgment 
of Milner is no where discoverable in Mr. Palmer. 
The scriptural catalogue of " fruits of the Spirit" is his 
test of that Spirit's presence, not any human scheme of 
doctrine. The bond of union by which he traces Chris- 
tian faith and holiness up to their source in Christ, is the 
real and tangible bond of ordinances and institutions, 
not the figmentary connection of agreement in certain 
arbitrary views. He is content to find the fulfilment of 
the promise wherever it pleased the Giver to impart it, 
without questioning His ability or disposition to raise 
up burning and shining lights even in the midst of dark- 
ness, and perpetuate vital heat even in a body soiely 
diseased and maimed. 

A great degree of accuracy in general outline, and in 
minute detail wherever that is given, is another admira- 



PREFACE. IX 

ble characteristic of Mr. Palmer's work. It has been in- 
creased, perhaps, by the correction of one or two slips 
of a hasty pen, in this edition ; and the minute differ- 
ences, of statement or opinion, in some of the editor's 
additional notes, will show how thoroughly he shared 
in the author's anxiety to be really useful — an end to be 
attained, in a work like this, only by the most scrupu- 
lous adherence to truth. If error as to fact be found 
in the book now presented to the reader, it has escaped 
not only the attention of the learned and indefatigable 
author, but the close examination of his humble and 
grateful fellow labourer, 

W. R. W. 
Baltimore, December 11th, 1840. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page. 
Introduction • 1 

CHAPTER II. 
On the early Progress of Christianity, a.d. 30-320. ... 5 

CHAPTER III. 
Faith of the Church, a.d. 30-320. ... ... 10 

CHAPTER IV. 
Fruits of Faith, exemplified in the Martyrs, a.d. 30-320, - - 13 

CHAPTER V. 
Fruits of Faith, exemplified in the Lives of Christians, a.d. 30-320. 21 

CHAPTER VI. 
Communion, Rites, and Discipline, a.d. 30-320. 24 

CHAPTER VII. 
Faith of the Church defended by the six oecumenical Synods, 

a.d. 320-6S0. 34 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Fruits of Faith, exemplified in the Saints and Martyrs, a.d. 320-680. 48 

CHAPTER IX. 
Unity and Discipline of the Church, a.d. 320-680. .... 63 

CHAPTER X. 
Rise of Abuses and Corruptions, a.d. 320-680. .... 68 

CHAPTER XI. 
Progress of Christianity, a.d. 680-1054 74 

CHAPTER XII 
Faith of the Church, a.d. 680-1054. 77 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Fruits of Faith, a.d. 680-1054. 83 



XI 1 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Abuses and Superstitions, a.d. 680-1054. - 

CHAPTER XV. 
Divisions of the eastern and western Churches, a.d. 680-1054. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Progress of Christianity, a.d. 1054-1517. - 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Faith of the Church, ajd. 1054-1517. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Fruits of Faith, a.d. 1054-1517. .... 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The eastern Church, a.d. 1054-1517. - 

CHAPTER XX. 
Abuses and Corruptions, a.d. 1054-1517. ... 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The foreign Reformation, a.d. 1517-1839. - • 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The British Churches, a.d. 1530-1839. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Fruits of Faith in the British Churches, a.d. 1530-1839. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Roman Churches, a.d. 1517-1839. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Fruits of Faith in the Roman Churches, a.d. 1530-1660. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
The oriental Churches, a.d. 1517-1839. ... 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
The Rise and Progress of Infidelity. ... 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Conclusion. 



Index. - 

Explanation of difficult Words. 



Pasre. 
100 



104 



A COMPENDIOUS 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION, 



The history of the world impresses the reflecting mind 
with the universal tendency of human institutions to decay 
and dissolution. Whether we contemplate the fate of man 
himself, or of illustrious empires raised by virtue, cemented 
by wisdom, but destroyed by luxury and sin, we trace in all 
the operation of that sentence of death which once passed on 
all men, and to which all that is merely human must bow. 

But in the history of the Church we view not only the 
working of the law of death, but the counteracting tendency 
of the Spirit of life, sustaining man amidst his infirmities, 
elevating him above all that is carnal and terrestrial, and im- 
pressing on his actions and his destinies the stamp of eternity. 
Empires, superstitions, and philosophies, have faded away, 
but true religion continues always to exist ; and as it came in 
the beginning from above, so at the end of all things it shall 
return thither again. The patriarchs and the prophets, the 
law and the gospel, preached to mankind the same religion, 
which was expanded and developed as the fullness of time 
drew on. We now behold the fulfilment of what the patri- 
archs desired to see ; we enjoy the reality of those things 
which the law of Moses foreshadowed ; we worship the God 
of Abel and of Abraham, and serve him with their faith. 

1 



2 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

And as the true religion has always been essentially the 
same, so has it ever had to contend with the same inclination 
of the human heart. That inclination was awfully exempli- 
fied in the days of Noah, when " all flesh had corrupted his 
way upon the earth ;" and that patriarch's family were alone 
found just. It was still more wonderfully manifested in the 
rebellions and backslidings of the children of Israel. It is 
again seen in the description which Scripture gives of the 
fallen state of Jew and Gentile, when the Son of God came 
to save a perishing world. 1 And who, that reflects on the 
exhortations and predictions addressed to Christians by the 
Lord and his disciples, can fail to perceive that the same evil 
tendency of the human heart was always to remain, even in 
the state of grace, and to form the chief danger and trial of 
the Church of God? 

The life of a true Christian, as described in Scripture, con- 
sists of self-denial, of warfare against the inclinations of na- 
ture, of prayer and watchfulness under the deepest conscious- 
ness of infirmity, of labour to walk under the guidance of the 
Spirit of God, with objects, tastes, and desires, altogether dif- 
ferent from those of the natural man. It was the sovereign 
will of God, that those who are saved should be fitted for their 
glorious inheritance by the discipline of this rough and narrow 
way ; but few, even of the best men, have passed through it 
without many grievous failures : all have come short of the 
glory of God, and all have need of serious and frequent re- 
pentance. Many, who profess to be disciples, have altoge- 
ther turned away to the broad and beaten track ; and, as our 
Lord teaches that some should hear the word with joy, but in 
time of temptation should fall away ; that others should per- 
mit it to be snatched from them by the assaults of the devil, 
or to be choked beneath the cares of this world and the deceit- 
fulness of riches ; he adds, that in that day many shall begin 
to 9ay, " We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou 

1 Rom. i. ii. 



CHAP. I. INTRODUCTION. 6 

hast taught in our streets ;" and that his reply shall be, " I 
know you not whence ye are : depart from me, all ye work- 
ers of iniquity." 1 The kingdom or Church of Christ is, in- 
deed, compared to a field in which tares grow with tho 
wheat, 2 and to a net which was let down into the sea, and 
gathered of all kinds both bad and good. 3 Such was to be 
the mingled state of the Christian Church, comprising not 
only evil men, but good men, subject to infirmities, errors, and 
sins. 

Nor was the Church only to be tried by inward failings ; it 
was to pass through the furnace of affliction and persecution 
from without. The saints in heaven are described as " they 
that came out of great tribulation ;" 4 and as the Captain of 
our salvation was made perfect through sufferings, 5 so it was 
fitting that the Church, which is His Body, 6 should be baptized 
with the baptism of his afflictions ; and accordingly his pro- 
mise was, " In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of 
good cheer ; I have overcome the world." 7 

There was still a subtler danger in store for the Church, 
connected indeed with the desires of the natural man, but 
raised and stimulated by the Author of evil. False Christs 
and false prophets were to arise, and to show great signs ; in- 
somuch that, if it were possible, they should deceive the very 
elect.® Damnable heresies were to be secretly introduced : 9 
false teachers and antichrists, carried away by the desire of a 
godless pre-eminence, were to subvert the faith of the unsta- 
ble. 10 As the apostle said, " There must be heresies among 
you, that they which are approved may be made manifest 
among you." 11 

Such were to be the infirmities, such the dangers of the 
Church ; and had she been left alone, and unaided amidst 
them all, "the waters had overwhelmed her, the stream had 

i Luke xiii. 26, 27. 2 Matt. xiii. 24-30, 37-43. 3 Matt. xiii. 47-50 

* Rev. vii. 14. 5 Heb. ii. 10. 6 Col. i. 24. 

7 John xvi. 33. 8 Matt, xxiii. 24. 9 2 Pet. ii. 1. 

io Acts, xx. 30 ; 1 Tim. iv. 1 ; 2 Tim. iii ; 1 John ii. 18, iv. 3. 
11 1 Cor. xi. 19. 



4 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

gone over her soul." 1 Nothing but the Spirit of God within 
her could have saved her from speedy destruction. But it 
had been decreed of old, that in the seed of Abraham " all 
the nations of the earth should be blessed." 8 It had been 
foretold by the Spirit, that He " should be for salvation to the 
end of the earth;" 3 that He "should have dominion from 
sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." 4 It 
had been declared that his kingdom should endure " for ever," 6 
and that " of the increase of his goverment and peace there 
should be no end." 6 And therefore when the Son of God 
came into the world, he said unto his disciples, " On this rock 
1 will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it :" 7 and therefore did he console them in the pros- 
pect of his departure ; " I will not leave you comfortless, I 
will come unto you :" 8 "I will pray the Father, and he shall 
give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for 
ever, even the Spirit of truth." 9 And when about to ascend 
up on high, he left to them that encouraging and blessed pro- 
mise, " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
world." 10 

The history of the Church, then, is not like other histories, 
in which the progress and fate of human enterprises is describ- 
ed ; it is the fulfilment of God's will for the salvation of man, 
the accomplishment of prophecies, the triumph of grace over 
the imperfection and sins of nature. The perpetuity of the 
Church ; its propagation in all nations ; the succession of the 
true faith ; the manifestations of the Holy Spirit's assistance 
in the lives of Christians ; the calamities, errors, afflictions, 
which, in all ages, beset it, — afford new proofs of the truth of 
Christianity itself, and inspire the devout mind with humility 
and faith. 

The principal periods of ecclesiastical history may be ar- 
ranged under the following divisions. 

1 Ps. cxxiv. 4. 2 Gen. xxii. 18. s Is. xlix. 6. 

4 Ps. lxxii.8. 5 Daniel ii. 44. 6 Isaiah ix. 7. 

7 Matt. xvi. 18. 8 John xiv. 18. • John xiv. 16. 
10 Matt, xxviii. 20. 



A.D. 30-320. PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 5 

First, the ages of persecution, which terminated with the 
accession of the Emperor Constantine to universal empire, in 
a. d. 320, and during which the Church was purest. 

Secondly, the ages, (a.d. 320-680,) when heresies invaded 
the Church, and were repelled by the six holy oecumenical 
synods ; and when the ravages of barbarians and heathens 
were counterbalanced by the conversion of many nations. 

Thirdly, the period (680-1054) in which ignorance, world- 
liness, and superstition, began to fall thickly upon the Church, 
though an earnest spirit of piety still continued to produce 
evangelists, saints, and martyrs, and to add wide regions to 
the Church of Christ. 

Fourthly, the times (1054-1517) when the East and West 
were estranged by the ambition of the Roman pontiffs ; when 
those bishops, elevated to the summit of temporal and spiritu- 
al power in the West, introduced numberless corruptions and 
innovations ; and when their power began to fade away. 

Fifthly, the epoch (1517-1839) when a reformation being 
called for, was resisted by those who ought to have promoted 
it ; when the Western Church became divided ; and at length 
infidelity came to threaten universal destruction. 



CHAPTER II. 



ON THE EARLY PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 

a.d. 30-320. 

" W hereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with 
what comparison shall we compare it ?" said the Lord. " It 
is like a grain of mustard-seed, which, when it is sown in the 
earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. But when 
it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, 
and shooteth out great branches, so that the fowls of the air 
may lodge under the shadow of it." 1 The Holy Spirit, by 

1 Matt. iv. 30-32. 
1* 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. II 



the mouth of the prophet Daniel, had many ages before pre- 
dicted the same wonderful origin and diffusion of the king- 
dom of Christ, under the figure of " the stone cut out of the 
mountain without hands," which " became a great mountain, 
and filled the whole earth." 1 Thus was Christianity destined 
to spring from a small and obscure beginning, and to over- 
spread the earth in the luxuriance of its growth. And so it 
came to pass. From Judea, the least of the nations of the 
earth, and from twelve of its poorest and most illiterate chil- 
dren, a " sound went into all the earth, and words unto the 
ends of the world." 2 The Son of God, when about to de- 
part, had given to them that lofty commission : " All power 
is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and 
teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to ob- 
serve all things that I have commanded you :" and they "went 
forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, 
and confirming the word with signs following." 

The number of the disciples assembled in the upper room 
at Jerusalem, after our Lord's ascension, was only a hundred 
and twenty ; but the miracles of the day of Pentecost, and 
the sermon of St. Peter, added three thousand souls ; and ere 
long, "the Lord adding to the Church daily such as should 
be saved," the number of the men was five thousand. 8 In 
vain did the priests and their adherents endeavour to prevent 
the progress of true religion, by inflicting punishments on 
its preachers. The next account is, that "the word of God 
increased ; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusa- 
lem greatly ; and a great company of the priests was obedient 
to the faith." 

The Gospel was, as yet, preached at Jerusalem only — in 
one city of a remote and obscure province of the Roman 
empire. What mere worldly calculation could then have 
imagined the triumphs which were in store for it ? Who 

1 Dan. ii. 35, 44, 45. 2 Rom. x. 18. s Acts ii. 47. 



A.D. 30-320. PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 7 

could then have expected that philosophies, idolatries, and su- 
perstitions, the growth of so many long ages, were to be pros- 
trated and annihilated before it, and that the kingdoms of the 
earth were to bow beneath its dominion? 

The destruction which Satan meditated against the Church 
in its infancy, was made the means of disseminating it more 
widely. The great persecution at Jerusalem, in „,- 

which the first martyr, St. Stephen, afforded so 
noble an instance of the power of faith, dispersed abroad the 
disciples, who preached throughout Judsea, Samaria, Phoeni- 
cia, Cyprus, and Syria. The apostles alone remained at Jeru- 
salem, where they probably continued to preach for several 
years after this time. Samaria, convinced by the miracles 
and the doctrine of Philip, with one accord embraced the 
Gospel : even the sorcerer Simon, deserted by his followers, 
and amazed at the gifts of the Holy Spirit, received baptism, in 
the vain hope of obtaining powers so far superior to his own. 
Tyre and Sidon now stretched forth their hands to the Lord ; 
and at Antioch was a great multitude of believers. 

Thus was the first great impulse to the dissemination of 
Christianity given by the persecution at Jerusalem. The next 
arose from the preaching of the apostle Paul to the Gentiles, 
which commenced about fourteen years after our 
Lord's ascension. The result of his first mission 
with Barnabas was the establishment of Churches in Pamphy- 
lia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Cilicia, constituting the southern 
portion of Asia Minor. His next circuit, had 
the effect of extending the Church in Phrygia, 
Galatia, and Troas, or the centre of Asia Minor ; and in Ma- 
cedonia and Greece. Another journey added the coasts of 
Asia towards Greece ; and the Church of Ephesus was form- 
ed, over which St. Paul presided for several 
years. Carried to Rome, he found Christi- 
anity already existing in several parts of Italy ; and the Roman 
Church, which had lately been edified by his epistle, was now 
rapidly extended by his preaching. Released from prison 



8 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, CH. II. 

at Rome, he seems to have revisited Ephesus, where he left 
Timothy to exercise the episcopal office ; to have preached 
in Crete, where Titus was invested with similar powers ; and 
to have passed through Macedonia, and even into Spain; 
whence, returning to Rome, he suffered for Christ about 
a.d. 68. 

The other apostles also preached the gospel among the 
heathen ; though St. Paul declared that " he laboured more 
abundantly than they all." The north of Asia Minor, or 
Cappadocia, Pontus, and Bithynia, (addressed by St. Peter in 
his epistle,) probably received the Gospel from that apostle 
some time after a.d. 52 ; for St. Paul intended in that year 
to preach in Bithynia, 1 which he would not have done, had 
St. Peter already evangelised that province, as his rule was, 
never to build on another's foundation. 2 The date of St. Pe- 
ter's epistle from Babylon suggests the probability of his hav- 
ing preached in Chaldsea ; and St. Thaddaeus is said to have 
taught at Edessa and in Mesopotamia. In Egypt the Church 
was founded by St. Mark, who constituted Anianus the first 
bishop of Alexandria. There are also traditions, that Per- 
sia, Arabia, and Ethiopia, were visited by some of the apostles. 

Thus, in about thirty years, that little grain of mustard- 
seed had grown into a mighty tree, the roots of which had 
struck themselves deep in all parts of the civilised world; 
and already it extended " from the river (Euphrates) to the 
ends of the earth." Nor was the success of its propagation 
in each locality inferior to the wideness of its dissemination 
throughout the world. We have seen examples of its rapid 
increase at Jerusalem, at Samaria, and Antioch. The hea- 
then historian Tacitus, in describing the persecution which 

&a na Christians suffered at Rome in the time of Ne- 
a.d. 64-68. 

ro, says, " At first, those only were apprehend- 
ed who confessed themselves of that sect ; afterwards, a vast 
multitude discovered by them, all of whom were condemned." 
It appears from a letter of Pliny, the Roman governor of Pon- 

1 Acts xvi. 7, 3 Rom. xv. 20. 



A.D. 30-320. PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 9 

tus and Bithynia, that Christianity had near- , ~ w 

, * , . / . about A.D. 107. 

ly caused the heathen worship in those 

countries to be deserted. Consulting the Emperor Trajan as 
to the mode of dealing with Christians, he says, " Therefore, 
suspending all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you 
for advice ; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserv- 
ing consideration, especially upon account of the great num- 
bers of persons who are in danger of suffering ; for many of 
all ages, and every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, 
and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this super- 
stition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, and the 
open country. Nevertheless it seems to me that it may be re- 
strained and corrected. It is certain, that the (heathen) tem- 
ples, which were almost forsaken, begin to be more frequent- 
ed; and the sacred solemnities, after a long remission, are 
revived. Victims (for the sacrifices) likewise are every where 
bought up, whereas for some time there were few purchasers." 
It appears from this remarkable testimony, that Christianity 
had, in the course of about fifty years, almost subverted idol- 
atry in those provinces. 

Little is known of the progress of Christianity for some 
years after the death of the apostles. The Church was pro- 
bably engaged chiefly in the labour of converting the popula- 
tion more immediately around it; and we hear little of new 

missions to the heathen ; vet Justin Martyr _ ., nn 

.",.,-, , , . c about A.D 150. 

wrote in his Apology, that "there is no race of 

men, whether barbarian or Greek, or by whatever other name 

they be designated, whether they wander in wagons, or dwell 

in tents, amongst whom prayers and thanksgivings are not 

offered to the Father and Creator of all, in the name of the 

crucified Jesus." We learn from Irenseus, , n ~ 

,., n T , , ,. , a i ,-A about a.d. 17o. 

bishop of Lyons, that the light of the Gos- 
pel had, at that time, been received in Germany, France, 
Spain, and in Libya : and Tertullian, a few ^ qo 

years later, declares that Parthia, Media, 
Armenia, the Getuli and Moors in Africa, all the borders of 



10 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. III. 

Spain, many nations of Gaul, those parts of Britain which 
were inaccessible to the Romans, the Sarmatians, Dacians, 
Germans, Scythians, and other nations and islands innumera- 
ble, were then subject to the dominion of Christ. " We are 
but of yesterday," he said ; "yet we have filled your empire, 
your cities, your islands, your castles, your corporate towns, 
your assemblies, your very camps, your tribes, your compa- 
nies, your palace, your senate, your forum ; your temples 
alone are left to you." "We constitute," he elsewhere says, 
" almost the majority in every town." 

In the succeeding century new nations were gathered with- 
in the fold of Christ. The assiduous labours of Origen con- 
01 . verted many of the Arabs to Christianity. The 
Goths of Mysia and Thrace followed their ex- 
ample ; and a number of pious missionaries successfully dis- 

oon seminated the Gospel throughout Gaul, and 
about a.d. 280. i iT u • n 

founded several churches in Germany. 

So great was the progress of religion, notwithstanding the 
violent and cruel persecutions to which it was continually ex- 
posed, that it became no less the interest than the duty of the 
first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, to relieve the 
Church from persecution, to act as the defender of its faith, and 
to distinguish its ministers and members by marks of his fa- 
vour and generosity. 



CHAPTER III. 



ON THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

a.d. 30-320. 

The promises of our Lord to his disciples, that the Spirit 
of truth should lead them into all truth and abide with them 
for ever, that the gates of hell should not prevail against his 
Church, and that he would himself be always with his dis- 
ciples, — imply that the faith revealed by Jesus Christ should, 



A.D. 30-320. FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 11 

in every age, continue to purify and sanctify the hearts and 
lives of his real followers ; and we may hence infer, that the 
belief which has, in all ages, been derived by the Church from 
holy Scripture ; the great truths which Christians have al- 
ways unanimously held to be essential to the Christian profes- ' 
sion ; which have supported them under the tortures of mar- 
tyrdom, and transformed them from sin to righteousness ; that 
such doctrines are, without doubt, the very same which God 
himself revealed for the salvation of man. 

What, then, was the belief received by all Christians from 
the beginning ? Let the martyr Irenseus, the friend of St. 
John's disciple Polycarp, reply : " The Church," he says, 
" though disseminated throughout the whole world, even unto 
the ends of the earth, hath received from the apostles the be- 
lief in one God, the Father Almighty, who made heaven and 
earth, and the seas and all that in them is -; and in one Christ 
Jesus, the Son of God, who was made man for our salva- 
tion ; and in the Holy Spirit, who, through the prophets, an- 
nounced the dispensations (of God,) the advent of the beloved 
Christ Jesus our Lord, his birth of a virgin, his suffering, re- 
surrection from the dead, and bodily ascension into heaven, 
and his coming (again) from the heavens in the glory of the 
Father, to gather together all things in one, and to raise up 
all flesh of mankind, in order that, according to the invisible 
Father's will, every knee of things in heaven, and things in 
earth, and things under the earth, may bow to Christ Jesus 
our Lord, our God, our Saviour, and our King, and every 
tongue confess unto him ; and that he may exercise righteous 
judgment on all — may send spiritual wickedness, and the an- 
gels that transgressed and became apostate, and the impious, 
unrighteous, wicked, and blasphemous among men, into eter- 
nal fire ; and bestow life and immortality and eternal glory 
on the righteous, the pious, and those who observe his com- 
mandments, and continue in his love, either from the begin- 
ning, or from the time of their repentance." 

"This preaching, and this faith (as we have said,) the 



12 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. JII. 

Church, though disseminated throughout the whole world, 
guards as carefully as if she dwelt in one house ; believes as 
if she had but one soul ; and proclaims, teaches, and delivers, 
as if she possessed but one mouth." 

Such was the universal belief of Christians in the second 
century, as it still continues in the nineteenth. We here find 
the most plain assertions of the Godhead of the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost ; the incarnation and satisfaction of 
our Lord ; the resurrection and future judgment ; and the ne- 
cessity of obedience and the love of God. That Christians 
worshipped our Lord Jesus Christ as God, is attested even by 
107 the heathen writer Pliny. "They affirmed," he 
says, " that the whole of their fault lay in this, 
that they were wont to meet together on a stated day, before 
it was light, and sing among themselves, alternately, a hymn 
to Christ as God." 

The condemnation of heresies in these ages affords an ad- 
ditional illustration of the belief of the Church. When 

., ~e Theodotus and Artemon, heretics, taught at Rome 
a.d. 196. & 

that our Lord Jesus Christ was not God, but a 

mere man, they were expelled from communion by Victor, 

bishop of Rome, and by the Roman Church ; and they were 

universally rejected and abhorred by all Christians. When 

Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch, endeavoured to revive 

this error, a council or meeting of seventy bishops, from all 

97n parts of the East, assembled at Antioch, and ex- 
pelled him from the Church. In their epistle, ad- 
dressed to all the bishops, priests, and deacons, throughout 
the whole world, and still extant, they declared that " he re- 
fused to confess with them that the Son of God came down 
from heaven ;" that he said, " that Jesus Christ is of the 
earth ;" and that he had thus "abjured the faith, and gloried 
in the accursed heresy of Artemon." Nothing can more 
plainly show the belief of the Church. The error of Praxeas, 

1QR 9.^9, Noetus, and Sabellius, in the third century, 
who affirmed that the Father, the Son, and 



A.D. 30-320. MARTYRDOMS. 13 

the Holy Ghost, are but one person, thus virtually denying that 
the Son, or the Holy Ghost, could have been " sent" by the 
Father, 1 or " come from," 2 or " be with," 3 or " intercede 
with," 4 the Father, were also universally rejected by the 
Church, as contrary to the Christian faith. The belief of 
Christians in the incarnation and real bodily existence of Je- 
sus Christ was manifested in their opposition to the Gnostics 
and Manichaeans, who held that our Lord's body was not real, 
but a mere phantom, and that he did not die on the cross : er- 
rors destructive at once of the truth of the Gospel history, 
of the atonement of Christ, and of the great miracle of his 
resurrection from the dead. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FRUITS OF FAITH EXEMPLIFIED IN THE MARTYRS. 

a.d. 30-320. 

This may suffice to show the belief which was unanimous- 
ly received by the primitive Church. Let us now proceed to 
observe its fruits. The power of true faith has never been 
more wonderfully exhibited than in the patience, the courage, 
and magnanimity of the martyrs. Animated by the promises 
of their Saviour, " whosoever shall confess me before men, 
him will I confess before my Father in heaven — he that loseth 
his life for my sake shall find it — rejoice and be exceeding 
glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before 
you,"— they believed, and triumphed in the belief, that their 
short affliction was to work for them a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory. 

But the afflictions which they suffered were enough to have 
broken down the strongest heart. Every thing that malice 
and ingenuity could devise was employed to shake their reso- 

1 John v. 23. a John xv . 26, xvi. 28. 

8 John i. 1. *Heb. vii. 25. 



14 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IV. 

lution. The rage and insolence of a brutal populace, the 
scourges and tortures of legal barbarity, and the more subtle 
torment of promises and entreaties to save their lives by com- 
pliance in idolatrous rites, were the portion of innumerable 
disciples of Christ. The Jews had been the earliest enemies 
of the Christian faith ; but their hatred was soon forgotten, 
in the persecutions which, for three centuries, were inflicted 
by the Roman emperors. To Nero, a tyrant whose name" 
became proverbial, even with the heathen, for all that was 
abominable in impurity and fearful in cruelty, belongs the 
evil pre-eminence of being the first great persecutor of the 

<>a no Church. Accused by the popular rumour of 
a.d. 64-68. , _ _ -i. - r r , . ., _ , 

having caused a dreadful fire, which had nearly 

consumed Rome, in order that he might have the honour of 
rebuilding it with greater magnificence, Nero expended large 
sums of money in conciliating the populace, in adorning the 
city, and in sacrifices to his gods. " But," adds the heathen 
historian Tacitus, " neither human assistance, nor the gifts 
of the emperor, nor the atonements offered to the gods, avail- 
ed : the infamy of that horrible transaction still adhered to 
him. To repress, if possible, this common rumour, Nero 
procured others to be accused, and punished with exquisite tor- 
tures a race of men detested for their evil practices, who were 
commonly known by the name of Christians. The author 
of that sect was Christus, who, in the rein of Tiberius, was 
punished with death, as a criminal, by the procurator Pontius 
Pilate. But this pestilent superstition, though checked for a 
while, broke out afresh, not only in Judasa, where the evil first 
originated, but even in the city (Rome,) the common sink in- 
to which every thing filthy and abominable flows from all 
quarters of the world. At first, those only were apprehended 
who confessed themselves of that sect ; afterwards, a vast 
multitude discovered by them ; all of whom were condemned, 
siot so much for the crime of burning the city, as for their en- 
snity to mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to 
expose them to derision and contempt. Some were covered 



A.D. 30-320. MARTYRDOMS. 15 

over with the skins of wild beasts, that they might be torn to 
pieces by dogs ; some were crucified ; while others, having 
been daubed over with combustible materials, were set up as 
lights in the night-time, and thus burned to death. For these 
spectacles, Nero gave his own gardens ; and at the same 
time exhibited there the diversions of the circus ; sometimes 
standing in the crowd as a spectator, in the habit of a chari- 
oteer, and at other times driving a chariot himself: until at 
length these men, though really criminal, and deserving ex- 
emplary punishment, began to be commiserated as people 
who were destroyed, not out of regard to the public welfare, 
but only to gratify the cruelty of one man." 

Such was the dreadful commencement of persecution ; such 
the torments under which Christians steadfastly continued in 
their profession of Christ. The heathen regarded this stead- 
fastness as obstinacy and insanity. The rejection of all the 
gods of the heathen, and all their worship, was stigmatised 
as atheism and impiety. Abstinence from the vices, the cor- 
ruptions, and the vile pleasures of the world, was treated as 
the result of a sour and unsocial temper. But though " hated 
of all men" for the name of Christ, true religion only multi- 
plied and increased under persecution. St. Paul was at this 
time beheaded at Rome, and St. Peter was crucified with his 
head downwards. 

The next persecution was under Domitian, dur- ~ rt 

i.ii i t i . i . A « I) « 93 - 

ing which the apostle John was immersed in a 

cauldron of boiling oil, at Rome, and miraculously escaping 
without hurt, was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he 
beheld the visions of the Apocalypse ; and from whence he 
went to Ephesus, and presided over the Churches of Asia. 
The reigns of Trajan, Aurelius, Severus, Decius, Valerian, 
Diocletian, and Maximian, were also stained by persecutions 
of the Christians. The last of these was also the most se- 
vere ; it continued for ten successsive years, during which 
innumerable martyrs attested their belief in Jesus Christ. 
I shall select, as an illustration of the faith of Christians 



16 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH, IV. 

under persecution, the following account of the martyrdom 
of St. Polycarp, who had been made bishop of Smyrna by 
the apostles, and was a disciple of St. John. The epistle of 
the Church of Smyrna, in which it occurs, and which was 
written a.d. 167,* commences as follows : — 

" The Church of God which is at Smyrna, to that which is 
at Philomelium,f and to all the Churches of the Holy Catho- 
lic Church in all parts, mercy, peace, and love, be multiplied 
from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." 
Having described the constancy of mind with which many 
of the martyrs in that city had borne the most dreadful tor- 
tures, they proceed thus : — " The admirable Polycarp, when 
he first heard of these things, remained undisturbed, pre- 
serving his calmness and serenity ; and he had resolved to 
remain in the city, but being persuaded by the entreaties and 
prayers of his friends, he retired to a village not far off, 
where he continued with a few others, occupied day and night 
only in continual prayer, supplicating and beseeching peace 
for the Churches throughout the world ; for this was his con- 
tinual habit. And, as he was praying, he saw a vision, three 
days before he was taken ; and behold the pillow under his 
head seemed to him on fire. Whereupon, turning to those 
who were with him, he said, prophetically, that he should be 
burnt alive." He was at length discovered by the persecu- 
tors. " Arriving in the evening, they found him resting in 
an upper chamber, whence he might have escaped with ease 
into another house, but he would not, saying, ' The will of 
the Lord be done ;' and, having heard of their arrival, he 
went down and spoke to them with so joyful and mild a coun- 
tenance, that they who knew him not before thought they be- 
held somewhat wonderful, when they saw his old age, and 
the gravity and constancy of his demeanour, and they mar- 

* [Rather, as Mr. Greswell (Suppl. Diss. onHarm. of Gosp. Vol. IV.) has 
satisfactorily proved, a.d. 164. — Am. Ed.] 

t[Another copy has u at Philadelphia :" the epistle was no doubt a cir- 
cular, addressed to several neighbouring or cognate Churches. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 30-320. MARTYRDOMS. 1 [ 

veiled why such diligence was used to take an aged man like 
this. He immediately offered to them refreshment, and re- 
quested permission from them to pray in freedom for one 
hour ; which being granted, he arose and prayed, being so 
full of the grace of God, that those who were present, and 
heard him pray, were amazed, and many of them repented 
that they had taken so venerable and holy a man. 

" When he had ceased his prayer, in which he made men- 
tion of all whom he had ever known, whether small or great, 
eminent or obscure, and of all the Catholic Church through- 
out the world; the hour of departure being come, he was 
placed on an ass, and brought into the city, that being the 
great Sabbath. Here the Irenarch Herod, and his father Ni - 
cetas, met him, who placed him in their chariot ; and seated 
beside him, persuaded him, saying, * What is the harm to 
say, Lord Caesar, and to sacrifice, and so to save your life V 
And he at first answered them not ; but when they continu- 
ed, he said, ' I will not do what you counsel me. 5 Then hav- 
ing failed to persuade him, they uttered reproaches, and threw 
him violently down, so that in falling from the chariot he 
hurt his thigh-bone. Unmoved, as if he had not thus suf- 
fered, he went with alacrity and speed to the amphitheatre, 
whither he was led. And when the tumult there was so great 
that few could hear, a voice from heaven came to Polycarp, 
as he entered the amphitheatre, ' Be strong, and quit thee like a 
man, Polycarp.' No one beheld the speaker, but many of us 
heard the voice. 

" When, therefore, he was brought forth, there was a great 
tumult among those who heard that he was taken. More- 
over, the proconsul asked, as he approached, if ' he were 
Polycarp V and when he had assented, he persuaded him to 
deny (Christ,) saying, ' Have pity on thine old age,' and such 
other things as are customary with them ; as, * Swear by the 
fortune of Caesar; repent; say, Away with the godless!' 
(Christians.) Then Polycarp, looking constantly on all the 
crowd in the amphitheatre, stretching forth his hand toward 

2* 



18 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IV. 

them, groaning, and looking up to heaven, said, * Away with 
the godless !' But when the proconsul pressed him, and 
said, ( Swear, and I will release thee — reproach Christ ;' Poly- 
carp replied, ' Eighty and six years do I serve him, and never 
hath he injured me ; and how can I blaspheme my King and 
my Saviour V When the proconsul continued to urge him, 
saying, ' Swear by the fortune of Caesar ;' Polycarp saith, 
* Since thou art so vainly urgent that I should swear by the 
fortune of Caesar, and feignest not to know what I am, hear 
me declare it with boldness, I am a Christian. If thou de- 
sirest to hear the reasons for our faith, grant me a day, and 
hear them.' The proconsul said, 'Persuade the people.' 
Polycarp replied, 6 Thee I have thought worthy to hear the 
reasons for our faith, for we are taught to render unto pow- 
ers and authorities constituted of God the honour which is 
fitting, and which is not injurious to us ; but for these (people,) 
I have not thought them worthy to hear my defence.' The 
proconsul said, ' I have wild beasts, and will cast thee unto 
them, except thou repentest.' He replied, 'Call them ; I 
cannot change from good to evil ; it is good to change from 
sin to righteousness.' The proconsul, ' I will cause thee to 
be devoured by fire, since thou despisest the beasts, unless 
thou repentest.' Polycarp, ' Thou threatenest fire which 
burneth but for a time and is then extinguished, for thou 
knowest not the fire of future judgment and of eternal punish- 
ment reserved for the wicked. But why tarriest thou ? Bring 
what thou wilt.' Having said this, and much more, he was 
filled with courage and joy, and his countenance was full of 
grace ; so that not only he failed not with terror at what was 
said unto him, but the proconsul was amazed, and sent his 
crier to proclaim thrice in the midst of the amphitheatre, 
1 Polycarp has confessed himself a Christian.' 

" When this was proclaimed, all the crowd of Gentiles and 
Jews at Smyrna cried aloud, with irrepressible fury, ' This 
is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the de- 
stroyer of our gods, who teaches many not to sacrifice or to 



A.D. 30-320. MARTYRDOMS. 19 

worship.' Thus saying, they called out and requested the 
asiarch Philip to let loose a lion at Poly carp. He said that 
it was not lawful for him to do so, as the combats of beasts 
had closed. They then cried out with one accord that Poly- 
carp should be burned alive." 

The account proceeds : " These things were no sooner 
said than done, the crowd instantly collecting wood and com- 
bustibles from the workshops and baths ; the Jews especial- 
ly, as their manner is, lending their willing assistance. But 
when the fuel was ready, he laid aside his vesture, and loos- 
ing his zone, endeavoured to take off his under garments. 
This he had not been accustomed to do, as all the faithful 
contended who should first touch his skin ; for always, even 
before his old age, he was universally reverenced for his vir- 
tue. The materials prepared for the fire were speedily placed 
around him, and when they would have nailed him to the 
stake, he said, ' Leave me thus ; for He who hath given me 
power to endure the fire, will grant me also to remain stead- 
fast without your nails ;' and they did not do so, but bound 
him to it. And he, with his hands bound behind him, like a 
comely ram chosen from the flock to be a whole burnt-offer- 
ing to God, said, ' Father of thy beloved and blessed Son 
Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge 
of thee ; God of angels, and powers, and of all the creation, 
and of all the generation of the righteous who live in thy 
presence ; I bless thee, because thou hast thought me worthy 
of this day and this hour, to take part in the number of thy 
martyrs, in the cup of Christ, to the resurrection of soul 
and body in the incorruption of the Holy Spirit, to eternal 
life. Amongst whom may I be received this day into thy 
presence as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as thou hast be- 
fore ordained and hast now fulfilled ; thou, who art without 
falsehood, the true God. For this, and for all things I praise 
thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee ; through the eternal High- * 
Driest Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son ; through whom be glory 



20 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IV. 

to thee with him, in the Holy Spirit, both now and unto all 
ages to come. Amen.' 

" When he had uttered the amen, and finished his prayer, 
the executioners lighted the fire ; but when a great flame burst 
forth, we, to whom it was permitted to behold, and who were 
retained that we might relate it to the rest, beheld a wondrous 
thing ; for the fire, affording the appearance of a vault, like the 
sail of a ship filled with the wind, surrounded in a circle the 
body of the martyr ; and he was in the midst, not like burn- 
ing flesh, but like gold and silver in the furnace, and we 
smelt a savour sweet as incense or some other precious per- 
fumes. The wicked, observing that his body could not be 
consumed by fire, commanded the executioner to approach 
and pierce him with a sword, which being done, a great quan- 
tity of blood came forth, insomuch that the fire was extin- 
guished, and the crowd marvelled because the difference was 
so great between unbelievers and the elect, of whom, this our 
apostolic and prophetic teacher, the bishop of the Catholic 
Church in Smyrna, was the most admirable in these our times." 

The narrative adds, that their enemies endeavoured to pre- 
vent the Christians from obtaining the remains of the martyr. 
They urged the proconsul that his body should not be given, 
"Lest, forsaking the crucified (Jesus,) they should begin to 
adore this man. And this they said by the suggestion and aid 
of the Jews, who had watched our endeavours to remove him 
from the fire, being ignorant that we can never forsake Christ, 
who suffered for the salvation of those who. are saved out of 
all the world, nor adore any other. For him, as being the 
Son of God, we worship; but the martyrs, as being dis- 
ciples and imitators of the Lord, we love as they deserve, on 
account of their unconquerable love to their King and Master." 

Space will not permit me to cite similar examples of faith 
and Christian heroism from the martyrdoms of the blessed Si- 
meon, bishop of Jerusalem ; St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch ; 
Justin Martyr ; the martyrs of Lyons ; Perpetua and Felicitas ; 
St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage ; and others innumerable. 



A.D. 30-320. SAINTS. 21 



CHAPTER V 

FRUITS OF FAITH EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIVES OF CHRISTIANS. 

a.d. 30-320. 

In these ages the profession of Christianity was attended 
with such dangers, and involved so perfect a renunciation 
of this world, that worldly, sinful, insincere, and even irre- 
solute men, were rarely found in the communion of the 
Church. The mass of Christians were thoroughly in earnest, 
full of zeal, and concentrating their hopes and their labours 
in the service of their Creator and Redeemer. If the Church 
in latter ages seem less pure and bright, it should be remem- 
bered that the world had then ceased to persecute ; that it had 
even attached itself externally to religion ; and thus, that a 
large number of professing Christians were not in reality fol- 
lowers of our Lord. For what the apostle says — " He is not 
a Jew which is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision 
which is outward in the flesh : but he is a Jew which is one 
inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart" 1 — may be 
applied equally to the case of Christians. The number of 
the real disciples of Christ, who constitute the soul of the 
Church, its vital and undying members, has perhaps not been 
less in later ages than in the times of persecution ; Dut the 
number of false brethren, and the multitude of scandals, has 
been greatly increased. 

The lives of Christians during the first three centuries ex- 
hibited striking evidence of the power of faith, and fulfilled 
the divine precept, " Let your light so shine before men that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven." To the morality and virtue of their conduct, 
frequent appeal was made by the Christian apologists. 
" We," says Justin Martyr, " who formerly rejoiced in li- 

1 Rom. ii. 28, 29. 



22 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. V. 

centiousness, now embrace discretion and chastity ; we who 
resorted to magical arts, now devote ourselves to the unbe- 
gotten God, the God of goodness ; we who set our affections 
on wealth and possessions, now bring to the common stock 
all our property, and share it with the indigent ; we who, 
owing to diversity of customs, would not share the same 
hearth with a different race, now, since the appearance of 
Christ, live together, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour 
to persuade those who unjustly hate us, that by leading a life 
conformed to the excellent precepts of Christianity, they may 
be filled with the good hope of obtaining like happiness with 
ourselves from that God who is Lord above all things." 
There were many instances in those times of persons selling 
their goods, and giving them to the poor, though the prac- 
tice was not general. It was customary for all Christians to 
receive the sacrament of the eucharist every Sunday ; in 
some Churches, indeed, especk'ly in time of persecution, it 
was administered every day ; and it was considered a griev- 
ous offence to forsake the table of the Lord. The manners 
and duties of Christians are described by Tertullian in his 
argument that Christian women ought only to marry believ- 
ers like themselves. A Christian marriage, he says, " is 
made by the Church, confirmed by the eucharist, sealed by 
the blessing, carried by angels to the heavenly Father, and 
ratified by him. Two believers bear the same yoke ; they 
are but one flesh and one spirit ; they pray together, kneel to- 
gether, fast together, instruct and exhort each other. They 
are together in the Church, and at the table of God ; in per- 
secution and in consolation. They do not conceal their actions 
from each other, nor inconvenience each other. They may 
visit the sick, and be present at the sacrifice of prayer with- 
out inquietude. They sing psalms and hymns together, and 
excite one another to praise God." 

Amongst the most illustrious saints and eminent men who 
adorned the Church in the first three centuries, we may name 
St. Ignatius, who had been constituted bishop of Antioch by 



A.D. 30-320. SAINTS. 23 

the apostles, and who, on his being carried to n7 

Rome, to suffer martyrdom, addressed many pi- 
ous epistles to the Christian Churches, exhorting them to con- 
fess the true faith, and to remain united to their bishops, 
priests, and deacons ; St. Justin Martyr who de- 1 p- n 

fended the Christian religion against infidels and 
Jews ; St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and disciple of the 
apostle John, whose martyrdom has been described above ; 
St. Irenseus, bishop of Lyons, and disciple of ,^ 

Polycarp, who, having proved triumphantly 
against the Gnostics that there is but one true God, the 
Creator of the world, and that his Son, our Lord, was both 
God and man, was at last crowned with martyrdom ;* the 
learned defenders of Christianity and moralists, Tertullian 
and Clement, presbyters of Carthage and Alexandria ; OrL- 
gen, the most learned writer of his time, a translator of the 
Bible and commentator ; Narcissus and Gregory, bishops of 
Jerusalem and Csesarea, who are said to have had the gift 
of miracles ; St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage and martyr, a 
man of ardent piety, zeal, and eloquence ; St. Dionysius, 
bishop of Alexandria, justly celebrated for his piety and 
wisdom, and an exile for the faith of Christ in the persecu- 
tion of Decius. 

We learn from Christian writers that miracles were occa- 
sionally performed in the second and third centuries for the 
conversion of the heathen, or to confirm the faith of Chris- 
tians. St. John Chrysostom says that in his time (the end 
of the fourth century) they had ceased. It seems by no 
means improbable, however, that God may have permitted 
some signs to have been wrought in later ages for the con- 
version of unbelievers. 

* [So some think, but without sufficient evidence. — Am. Ed.] 



24 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VI. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ON THE COMMUNION, RITES, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. 

a.d. 30-320. 

No precept is more frequently inculcated in sacred Scrip- 
ture than that of mutual love and charity between all Chris- 
tians. " By this," said our Lord, " shall all men know that 
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' 51 By 
their relation to God as their heavenly Father, they are made 
brethren to one another; and therefore the apostolical com- 
mand is, " Love as brethren." Such is the duty of Chris- 
tians ; they are bound to regard all their brethren as mem- 
bers of the same spiritual body as themselves ; and hence re- 
sults the obligation of holding communion in all possible re- 
spects with all members of the Church of Christ. Our Lord 
prayed that his disciples might be "one;" the apostles ex- 
horted them to permit no schisms, no contentions among 
them, 2 and to avoid those who caused divisions, 8 whom they 
characterised as " sensual, not having the Spirit." 4 

This communion of all particular Churches with each 
other as parts and members of the one great spiritual body or 
society of believers, existed for some ages in much more per- 
fection than it subsequently did, when earthly ambition and 
unchristian feelings were engendered by prosperity, and the 
tares began to grow thickly among the good wheat. In the 
time of the apostles it was manifested by the reception and 
admission to religious communion of Christians who came 
from other countries ; by contributions for the relief of dis- 
tressed believers in all parts ; and by the exchange of letters 
and advice. The same practices continued for many ages to 
be general . Each bishop then could give to any member of 

i John xiii. 3. 2 1 Cor. i. 10-12. 

3 Rom. xvi. 17. 18. * Jude 19. 



A.P. 30-320. COMMUNION. 25 

his Church who might visit foreign countries, commendatory 
letters, which, on being presented to the most remote 
Churches, secured his immediate admission to all the privi- 
leges of Christian fellowship, and, in case of necessity, to 
the kind offices of Christian benevolence. We have in the 
epistle of St. Clement, bishop of Rome, and the Roman 
Church, addressed to the Church of Corinth, before the end 
of the first century, on occasion of a schism in the latter 
Church, an instance of the same fraternal intercourse and 
solicitude ; and in the following centuries, the epistles of 
Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, to many - fi ~ 

Churches in Pontus, Crete, &c, and that 
of the Council of Antioch, to all the Churches, 2^ 

are further examples of the same practice. We 
learn from Dionysius, that even in the second century, the 
Church of Rome was remarkable for the extent of its chari- 
ties to the distressed and persecuted Christians at Corinth 
and in the East ; and Dionysius of Alexandria, in the follow- 
ing century, attests that the same truly Chris- 1 .„ ~ ft - 
tian conduct was still in full exercise, and that 
its benefits were felt even in the remote regions of Arabia. 

But, notwithstanding the obligation of Christians to culti* 
vate brotherly love, the harmony of the Church has but too 
often been interrupted. Even in the time of St. Paul, the 
Church of Corinth was full of parties and division, as it af- 
terwards was in the time of St. Clement. Paul and Barna- 
bas themselves separated and departed asunder from each 
other. In the second century a serious division arose be- 
tween the Roman and the Asiatic Churches ; for when the 
latter persisted in retaining their ancient custom of celebrat- 
ing Easter rather on the same day with the Jews, than with 
the rest of the Catholic Church, Victor, bishop of 
Rome proceeded to the extent of separating 
them from his communion; an act which was disapproved 
by St. Irenseus and the greater part of the Church. 

3 



26 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VI, 

orq la the following century, a difference arose 

between Stephen, bishop of Rome, and the Afri- 
can Churches. The latter, headed by St. Cyprian, bishop of 
Carthage, maintained that baptisms performed by sectarians 
and heretics were null and void, and that all converts to the 
Church ought to be baptised ; while the Roman Church did 
not reiterate baptism when it had been administered by here- 
tics with the proper external form, but received converts into 
the Church by the imposition of hands in confirmation. The 
practice of the African Church was approved by many of 
the Eastern and Egyptian Churches, and seems to have been 
supported by very strong reasoning ; but Stephen insisted 
that the custom of the Roman Church should be adopted, and 
separated the African Churches, on their refusal, from his 
Gommunion. This act, however, was not approved or re- 
cognised by the majority of bishops. 

These dissensions between independent Churches were of 
a very different character from formal schisms. The former 
consisted in a temporary withdrawal of the usual marks of 
intercourse between different Churches ; the latter were sep- 
arations from the Church ; the establishment of rival wor- 
ship, rival ministers, different communions in the same place. 
In the one case charity was chilled ; in the other it was en- 
tirely destroyed. Novatian, disappointed of the bishopric 
9 p. 1 of Rome, rebelled against his bishop, Cornelius, 
and established a rival community at Rome, of 
which he was constituted the bishop ; but when the case was 
known, he was condemned by the whole body of the Church 
throughout the world, and his sect was rejected as schismati- 
cal. In the following century, the bishops of Numidia, en- 
Q-io raged at the election of Csecilianus to the see of 
Carthage in their absence, pretended that he 
had been ordained by apostates, and having ordained rival 
bishops at Carthage and elsewhere in Africa, separated from 
the communion of the universal Church (which supported 
Caecilianus,) declaring it apostate. These sectarians, called 



A.D. 30-320. RITES. 27 

Donatists, were, after full examination of their cause by 
councils of bishops, and by the Emperor Constantine, univer- 
sally rejected and condemned. They continued, however, 
for two or three centuries to disturb and persecute the Church 
in Africa. Separations like these, where rival worship was 
established, were in those ages regarded as most heinous sins, 
and destructive of salvation. 

I now proceed to the consideration of the sacraments and 
rites of the Church. One of the fullest and most interesting 
details of the celebration of Baptism and the Lord's supper 
in those days which has been preserved, occurs in 1 ^ 

the writings of Justin Martyr. "We shall re- 
late," he says, " the manner in which those who are renew- 
ed through Christ, dedicate themselves to God." " As many 
as are persuaded and believe what is taught and said by us 
(Christians,) and promise that they will live accordingly, are 
instructed with prayer and fasting to beseech from God the 
remission of their sins ; we also fasting and praying along 
with them. Then we bring them to a place where there is 
water, and they are regenerated in the same mode of regen- 
eration as that with which we were ourselves regenerated ; 
for then they are washed in water, in the name of God the 
Father and Lord of all, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
and of the Holy Ghost ; for Christ himself said, Except ye 
be regenerated, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. 55 
This was the manner in which all converts from heathenism 
were admitted into the Christian Church, and made par- 
takers of all its blessed promises and privileges. When in- 
fants were baptised, the parents or godfathers made the 
same engagements in their name. The practice of infant 
baptism was generally established before the time - 7fi 

of Irenseus* and in that of Cyprian the ques- 
tion was only whether they ought to be baptised 

♦[Passages in the writings of Hermas (before a.d. 100 ;) of Justin Mar- 
tyr (a.d. 150 ;) and of Clement of Alexandria (a.d. 200 ;) show that it 
must have prevailed. unquestioned, in their several ages. — Am. Ed.] 



28 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VI. 

before the eighth day after their birth. As infants had been 
admitted by circumcision into covenant with God under 
the older dispensation ; and as our Lord had shown his fa- 
vour to them by taking them in his arms, blessing them, and 
saying, that " of such is the kingdom of heaven ;" and as it is 
related that the apostles baptised whole households of theii 
converts — the Church always believed that the children ol 
Christians ought not to be left in the condition of heathens, 
but received at once into the Christian body by holy baptism, 
and instructed to walk worthy of the high gifts which they 
had received. 

The rite of Confirmation followed that of baptism. The 

apostles had laid their hands on those who were baptised, in 

order that they might receive additional gifts of the Holy 

~ Ark Ghost ; and we find from Tertullian that this cus- 

A.D. 200. 

torn was still observed by the bishops, the succes- 
sors of the apostles, as it has always continued to be from 
that age to the present. Confirmation was generally admin- 
istered soon after baptism ; and it does not seem that for 
many centuries the discipline of the Church separated those 
rites by such an interval as is now customary; but it must 
be remembered, that in the first ages baptism was rarely ad- 
ministered except by the bishop, and at the great festivals of 
Easter and Pentecost, when numbers of converts from hea- 
thenism, who had been for months under catechetical instruc- 
tion, and the children of Christians, were all together bapti- 
sed with great solemnity, and immediately afterwards were 
confirmed. 

" After baptism," says Justin Martyr, "we lead him (the 
convert) to the place where those who are called brethren are 
assembled, and prepared to offer earnest prayers both for 
themselves and for those who have been illuminated (bap- 
tised,) and for all other people every where, that they may be 
thought worthy to know the truth, and be found good men, 
and keepers of the commandments, that they may be saved 
with an eternal salvation. Having ceased from prayers, we 



A.D 30-320. rites. 29 

salute each other with a kiss. Then bread, and a cup of wine 
and water mixed, is brought to the president (bishop*) of the 
brethren, and he, taking them, offers praise and glory to the 
Father of all, through the name of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit, and maketh a very long thanksgiving, because He 
hath thought us worthy of these gifts ; and when he has con- 
cluded the prayers and thanksgiving, all the people present 
approve it with acclamation, saying, Amen. Now ' amen* 
in the Hebrew tongue signifies * so be it.' ' : 

" When the president has offered thanksgiving, and all the 
people responded, those who are called deacons amongst us 
give to every one present a portion of the bread, and of the 
wine and water which has been blessed, and carry it to those 
who are not present. And this food we call the eucharist, 
of which no one is permitted to partake except he believes in 
the truth of our doctrine, and has been baptised in the laver 
for the remission of sins and regeneration, and lives so as 
Christ has taught : for we do not receive it as common bread 
or common drink ; but as, by the word of God, our Saviour 
Jesus Christ was incarnate, and had flesh and blood for our 
salvation, so also we have been instructed, that the food, 
blessed by the word of prayer which is from him, through 
which our flesh and blood by a change are nourished, is 
(spiritually) the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus. For 
the apostles, in the commentaries written by them, which are 
called Gospels, have informed us that they were commanded 
to do so by Jesus, who took bread and gave thanks, and after 
giving thanks said, * Do this in remembrance of me ; this 
is my body ;' and in the same manner took the cup, and hav- 
ing given thanks, said, * This is my blood,' and distributed it 
to them only" (i. e. only to believers.) 

" After this," he continues, " we always continually re- 
mind each other of these things ; and the rich assist the 
poor, and we are continually with each other. In all our of- 

* [Or c officiating presbyter'. -Am. Ed.] 
3* 



30 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VI. 

ferings, we bless the Creator of all things, through his Son 
Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. And on the day- 
called Sunday, all who dwell in the city or the country as- 
semble in one place, and the memorials of the apostles, and 
the writings of the prophets, are read as the time permits. 
Then, when the reader ceases, the president in a discourse 
exhorts and admonishes to the imitation of these excellent 
precepts. We then all rise together, and send up prayers ; 
and, as we have said, when the prayers cease, bread is offer- 
ed, and wine and water." 

" But those who are wealthy and so disposed contribute 
each as he pleases ; and the collection is deposited with the 
president, who assists the orphans and widows, and those who 
are in want, through sickness or some other cause, also those 
who are in prison, and guests who are foreigners ; and, in 
short, he is the guardian of all who are in distress. And on 
the Sunday we all assemble together, because it is the first 
day, on which God, changing darkness and matter, created 
the world, and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose 
from the dead." 

In those early times the creed was used, as it still is, as a 
confession of faith preparatory to receiving the sacrament of 
baptism. When the Ethiopian eunuch desired to be baptised, 
Philip said to him, " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou 
mayest." And he answered and said, " I believe that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God." Here is an instance of a creed, 
or profession of faith, even in the time of the apostles. In- 
deed, as our Lord had required faith in his doctrines, as well 
as baptism, in order to salvation, the Church was bound to 
ascertain as far as possible that those who desired baptism 
were believers, and therefore to require from them a profes- 
sion of their faith. Creeds in this point of view, as summa- 
ries of the Gospel, are as old as the time of the apostles ; 
their length and fulness varied in different Churches, and 
sometimes new articles were added, in order to assert the 
truth in opposition to prevalent heresies. The apostles' creed 



A.V. 30-320. DISCIPLINE. 31 

was the ancient baptismal creed of the Roman and Italian 
Churches; the Nicene creed was founded on the ancient 
creeds of the Eastern Churches by the holy synod of 318 
bishops at Nice, and was adopted as the rule of o^k 

faith by the universal Church in all subsequent 
times. This creed was introduced into the liturgy or service 
of the eucharist in the fifth and sixth centuries. 

What has been said of the apostolical antiquity of creeds 
applies also to liturgies. It appears that, in the fourth cen- 
tury, there were four forms of administering the eucharist in 
existence, which had continued in different parts of the uni- 
versal Church from the remotest antiquity. These forms 
agreed in all their principal parts : their variety consisted 
chiefly in the different order in which those parts were ar- 
ranged. One form prevailed in Judaea, Syria, Asia Minor, 
Macedonia, Greece ; and, in the fifth century, was ascribed 
by the Church of Jerusalem to James the apostle. Another, 
which was established by St. Mark, prevailed in Egypt and 
Ethiopia. A third, which has been attributed, with some 
probability, to St. John the apostle, was used in Ephesus, and 
afterwards in France, Spain, and probably Britain. A fourth 
apostolical form existed in Rome, Italy, and Africa. Every 
Church had and exercised the power of improving its liturgy 
by the addition of new rites and prayers ; but all adhered to 
the general order and substance delivered from the begin- 
ning. The liturgy or service for the holy communion now 
used in England,* resembles the ancient Gallican in the most 
essential points. 

Penitence was regarded as the remedy for sin committed 
after baptism. It was generally taught that confession of se- 
cret sins to God, with a truly contrite heart and changed life, 
were sufficient to obtain remission of sins. In the case of 
sins, however, which were public and caused scandal, a dif- 

* [And in the Protestant Episcopal Churches of Ireland, Scotland and 
America. The forms of the last two are more full and primitive than th« 
English. — Am. Ed.] 



32 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VI. 

ferent method was pursued. St. Paul had commanded the 
Corinthian Church to expel from its communion a person who 
had committed a grievous and scandalous sin, and had en- 
joined them to receive him again on his sincere repentance. 
The Church, acting on this principle, excommunicated any 
of its members who fell into grievous sin, unless they volun- 
tarily submitted to a lengthened course of penitence. Peni- 
tence for seven, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years, was re- 
quired for some sins, in proportion to their enormity or scan- 
dal. During this period, the penitent first stood outside the 
Church while divine service was proceeding ; then, in pro- 
cess of time, was admitted into the Church, but obliged to as- 
sume the humblest attitude, and forbidden to partake of the 
eucharist. During all this time, he was obliged further to 
manifest his grief by fasting, weeping, mourning, wearing 
sack-cloth, and imploring the prayers of the brethren for his 
soul. Such was the severity of the ancient discipline ; but 
the bishop had the power of diminishing the time, in cases 
where repentance was deep and manifest. The Church was 
at length fully satisfied, and the penitent was then solemnly 
absolved and blessed, and admitted to the full privileges of 
Christian fellowship. The same sort of penitence was re- 
quired from those who had been excommunicated for their 
sins, and desired to return to the Church. 

Those who committed great sins in secret were recom- 
mended to disclose their guilt to discreet and judicious min- 
isters of God, and receive from them directions for the course 
of private penitence which they ought to pursue. In the lat- 
ter part of the third century, a penitentiary was appointed in 
most churches, whose duty it was to hear such voluntary 
confessions, and to offer spiritual advice to penitents. About 
a century afterwards, this office was discontinued by Necta- 
rius, bishop of Constantinople, on occasion of the scandal 
caused by an imprudent publication of a crime, through the 
indiscretion of the penitentiary of that Church ; and from 



A.D. 30-320. DISCIPLINE. 33 

this time, private penitents in the Eastern Churches approach- 
ed the Lord's table at their own discretion. 

The ministry of the Church instituted by the apostles con- 
sisted of bishops, priests, and deacons. The apostles re- 
tained the government of all Churches in their own hands at 
first, only appointing deacons and bishops, or presbyters (for 
these two names are indiscriminately used in holy Scripture;) 
but when about to depart from this world, they constituted 
bishops or chief presbyters " in their own place," as we learn 
from St. Irenseus. Thus Timothy was placed at Ephesus, 
Titus at Crete, Dionysius the Areopagite at Athens, Linus 
at Rome, Anianus at Alexandria, as James had been long be- 
fore appointed bishop at Jerusalem. Even the opponents of 
episcopacy admit, that by the middle of the second century 
all Churches were governed by bishops ; and, in fact, no in- 
stance of any Church not under episcopal superintendence 
has ever been pointed out in the course of fifteen centuries 
after Christ. Amongst Churches, some had pre-eminent dis- 
tinction from their opulence and magnitude, or the civil dis- 
tinctions which their cities enjoyed ; and thus, in the second 
and third centuries, the Churches of the principal cities, such 
as Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Carthage, 
were much honoured. All bishops and Churches, however, 
were regarded as perfectly equal in the sight of God ; and all 
regulated their own affairs, and exercised discipline with per- 
fect freedom. 

The rules for the appointment of bishops and clergy were 
various. In some Churches, the people united with the cler- 
gy in electing their bishop ; in others, the clergy alone ap- 
pointed him. Ordination followed, in which a priest received 
imposition of hands from one bishop, while a bishop was or- 
dained by several. Each bishop was aided in his ministry by 
presbyters, or priests, and deacons, whom he generally con- 
sulted in important matters. The administration of the re> 
venues of the Church was under his direction, and the dea- 
cons were his almoners. 



34 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

Those who were departing from this life were strengthened 

by receiving the holy communion, which the great council 

00 ~ of Nice commanded not to be refused to any 

A.D. oZO. J 

Christian, who might desire it in his last hour. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH DEFENDED BY THE SIX (ECUMENICAL 
SYNODS. 

A.D. 320-680. 

We now enter on a new period of the Church's history, in 
which temptations of a different sort assailed her faith. The 
times of persecution for the name of Christ had now passed 
away ; but the watchful enemy of man seized the moment 
when prosperity began to lull the Church into security, to in- 
troduce errors which were destructive of all true faith, and 
which led to persecutions, divisions, and innumerable calam- 
ities. 

Religion had tasted the sweets of peace for a few years af- 
ter the persecution of Diocletian had ceased, and her borders 
had been enlarged by the conversion of the king and people 
of Armenia by St. Gregory the illuminator, when the most 
~- Q formidable heresy by which she has ever been af- 
flicted made its appearance. The evil doctrine 
of Arius, presbyter of Alexandria, disturbed the Christian 
world for fifty years. Several Roman emperors, deceived by 
the arts of one of the most crafty and unprincipled parties 
that ever existed, threw the whole weight of their authority 
into its scale ; and sometimes it seemed for a moment trium- 
phant. The doctrine of the Arians was, that our Lord Jesus 
Christ had been created, like all other things, by God ; that 
he was not truly God, but a creature liable to fall into vice 
and sin ; and that there was a time when he did not exist. 



A.D. 320-680. ARIANISM. 35 

To terminate the disputes excited by these blasphemies, the 
first (ecumenical synod, consisting of three hundred and 
eighteen holy bishops, many of whom had been confessors 
and exiles in the time of heathen persecution, assembled at 
Nice, in Bithynia, by order of the Emperor 005 

Constantine the Great, when Arius was heard 
before all the bishops ; and his doctrine having been fully ex- 
amined and universally condemned as impious, he was driven 
from the communion of the Church : and the Christian faith 
was declared in that celebrated Nicene creed, which has ever 
since been received as the rule of faith by all Christian 
Churches. In this creed it was professed that Christ is " of 
the same substance" (homousion) with the Father, i. e. of the 
same real Godhead. 

This judgment was immediately approved and acted on 
by the whole Church dispersed throughout the world ; and 
even the Arian party in the synod, not daring to utter any 
thing in opposition in the true faith, returned to their 
Churches acquiescing in the decree. Arius himself at last 
professed to believe in the Nicene faith ; and it was not till 
a.d. 341, that the Arians ventured to compose a new creed. 
In the mean time, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and other leaders 
of the Arians, concealing their real sentiments, proceeded, by 
the aid of unjust accusations, false witnesses and violence, 
to depose and persecute the principal champions of ortho- 
doxy. St. Athanasius, who, when a deacon at the synod 
of Nice, had distinguished himself in opposition to Arius, 
and who had been soon after ordained patriarch of Alexan- 
dria, became the chief object of their hostility. The Em- 
peror Constantine, deceived by Eusebius of Nicomedia, re- 
quired the re-admission of Arius to the communion of the 
Church at Alexandria ; and, on the firm refusal of Athana- 
sius, the Arians accused him to the emperor of causing divi- 
sion, and of other offences. Athanasius showed that his ac- 
cusers were unworthy of belief. The Arians then excited 
the Meletians (another sect which had separated itself from 



36 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

the Church) to charge him with imposing a tax in Egypt by 
his own authority ; and, on the failure of this accusation, to 
allege that he had broken a sacred chalice, and put to death 
one of his clergy. But, on inquiry, this person was found 
to be still alive, having secreted himself in consequence of 
some offence which he had committed. The Emperor Con- 
stantine then wrote to Athanasius, expressing his approbation 
and confidence in him. 

His enemies, however, were not discouraged. They at 
length prevailed on the emperor to assemble a synod at Tyre, 
004 where the Arian bishops alone were present : and 
when Athanasius had proved that the witnesses 
against him were unworthy of credit, and demanded time to 
bring additional proofs of his innocence, the Arians became 
so violent, that the imperial officers who were present pri- 
vately removed him, lest his life should fall a sacrifice to 
their fury ; and he was then condemned, and deprived of his 
bishopric in his absence. Athanasius besought the emperor 
to examine the case; and he accordingly wrote to the bish- 
ops of the synod, but was at last persuaded by Eusebius of 
Nicomedia to banish Athanasius to Treves, in Gaul. When 
Arius was about to be admitted to communion at Constantino- 
oofi pie, by command of the emperor, he died in a 
sudden and terrible manner ; and Constantine 
himself dying in 337, was succeeded by his sons. 

Shortly after the death of the emperor, his son Constan- 
tine, who ruled in Gaul, permitted Athanasius to return to 
Alexandria, and wrote to the Church of that city, commend- 
ing their bishop in the highest terms. But Athanasius was 
ere long again expelled by the Emperor Constantius, at the 
. t request of the Arian synod of Antioch ; and Gre- 

A.D. 341. H J . ' . . 

gory, an Arian, was appointed bishop in his 
place. A large body of troops accompanied the intruding 
bishop to Alexandria, to secure his peaceful entrance into the 
city, and to expel Athanasius. That holy bishop feared lest 
the people should suffer on his account ; but he commanded 



A.D. 320-680. ARIANISM. 37 

divine service to be performed in the church that evening ; 
and when the soldiers had entered the church to make him a 
prisoner, he commanded a psalm to be sung ; and as the 
soldiers waited till the psalm was ended, Athanasius in the 
mean while escaped through the crowd of singers, and hid 
himself. For a long time he lived in a dark cavern of the 
earth, which had formerly been a reservoir for water. His 
habitation was known only to those with whom he dwelt, and 
to a maid who was thought worthy to minister to him ; but 
she was tempted by the promises of the Arians, and Athana- 
sius was about to fall into their hands, when God warned 
him of his danger, and he escaped. He then went to Rome, 
where he appealed to the bishop, Julius ; and his cause hav- 
ing been examined in a synod at Rome, he was pronounced 
innocent, and acknowledged as the lawful bishop of Alex- 
andria. This judgment was soon after renewed by the great 
synod of Sardica, which at the same time ap- « .„ 

proved the Nicene faith, and condemned the 
Arian party, who had withdrawn from it on perceiving the 
sentiments of the majority. The cause of orthodoxy now 
obtained a temporary triumph. The Emperor Constans, 
who ruled in the West, threatened to declare war against 
Constantius, if Athanasius was not restored to his see ; and. 
accordingly that bishop, with several other of the persecut- 
ed orthodox bishops of the East, were restored to their 
flocks. Athanasius returned in triumph, with letters of the 
highest recommendation from Julius of Rome, from the Em- 
peror Constantius, from Maximus of Jerusalem, and the 
bishops of Palestine. Even the Arian bishops Valens 
and Ursacius, who had been most active in procuring his 
condemnation, acknowledged that all their charges had 
been false, deplored their wickedness, and sought his com- 
munion. 

The eastern Church, however, was still troubled by the 
presence of Arian bishops, though many prelates, and the 
people generally, held the true faith. The western Church 

4 



38 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII., 

was generally orthodox ; and for some time after the synod 
of Sardica, the Western and Eastern Churches were sepa- 
rated from communion on account of St. Athanasius. The 
favourable prospects of true religion became speedily over- 
clouded again. The Arians continued their machinations, 
under the authority of the Emperor Constantius ; and, in 
353 and 355, caused synods to be assembled at Aries and at 
Milan, in which, by force and fraud, the condemnation of 
St. Athanasius and other orthodox bishops was again obtain- 
ed. The emperor had twice sent messengers to bring him 
to Milan ; but the people of Alexandria would not permit him 
to leave the city, well knowing the dangers which awaited 
him there. Troops were then marched from Egypt and Li- 
bya to seize him ; but when they had surrounded the church 
in which he was, he again disappeared ; and was not to be 
found. An Arian, named George, was ordained bishop in 
his place. 

It was at this time, perhaps, that St. Athanasius again had a 
remarkable escape from his enemies. While he was sailing 
up the Nile into the interior of Egypt, his persecutors, hear- 
ing of it, followed him ; but he, being admonished of God, 
informed his companions of their danger, and commanded 
them to return to Alexandria. They accordingly turned 
about, and coming with the stream, passed the pursuing ship, 
arrived safe in the city, and remained unobserved in the 
crowd. On account of these wonderful escapes, he was ac- 
cused by the Arians and Gentiles of practising magic. 

When the great object of their dread had been thus re- 
moved, the Arians began more openly to attempt the de- 
struction of the Nicene faith. They had already composed 
several creeds more or less unsound, and capable of Arian 
interpretations ; but they now framed a new formula, in 
which the Divinity of Christ was apparently asserted strong- 
ly, while it really admitted of an interpretation favourable 
to Arian views ; and having induced the emperor to assem- 
ble the bishops of the West, to the number of four hundred, 



A.D. 320-680. ARIANISM. 39 

org at Ariminum, in Italy, they proposed it for their 
adoption. The synod, however, immediately 
required the Arian bishops to subscribe the Nicene creed, 
and deposed those who refused to do so ; and it was only af- 
ter they had been wearied out by a delay of many months, 
intimidated by the threats of the emperor, and solemnly as- 
sured by the Arians that they received the creed in the or- 
thodox sense, that the bishops at last gave way, and, in 
hopes of securing peace, permitted the omission of the term 
homousion (•■ of the same substance, 5 ') which occurred in the 
Nicene creed. The majority of the bishops, too, either de- 
ceived or intimidated, subscribed the new creed ; but the 
deception was soon discovered. The Arians proclaimed 
every where that the Nicene faith was condemned, and an- 
nounced their own interpretation of the creed lately adopt- 
ed. But though heresy seemed for a moment triumphant, it 
was soon to be overthrown. France and Italy, roused by 
the celebrated Hilary, bishop of Poic tiers, who returned from 

his exile in the East, declared their adherence nnrx 

a.d. 360. 
to the true faith, annulled the proceedings at 

Ariminum, expelled the Arians from communion, and trans- 
mitted their resolutions to the orthodox bishops of the East. 
Egypt was already proclaiming its agreement with their 
faith ; for on the death of Constantius, Athana- nn ~ 

' , A.D. 361. 

sius re-appeared suddenly in the church of Alex- 
andria, after having entirely disappeared for seven years, 
during which he had dwelt among the monks in Upper 
Egypt. When he thus, beyoncf all expectation, appeared 
again, the people of Alexandria rejoiced with exceeding joy, 
and delivered all the churches to him, expelling the Arians. 
At the same time, Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, and Eusebius 
of Vercellae, returned from the Upper Thebais, where Con- 
stantius had condemned them to perpetual exile for their 
faith ; and Eusebius was present in the synod of „ fi2 

Alexandria, held by Athanasius to confirm the 
Nicene creed. When the emperor, Julian the Apostate, 



40 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

heard that St. Athanasius was again in Alexandria, and that 

he was converting many of the heathen to Christianity, he 

commanded him to leave the city. When departing from 

his see, and beholding the people weeping around him, he 

said, " Take courage ; this is but a little cloud, which shall 

quickly pass away." And so indeed it proved: for on the 

~ accession of Jovian, Athanasius was restored 
a.d. 363. . . ' 

to his see, and testified to that orthodox emperor, 

that the true faith was then received in all the Churches of 
Spain, Britain, Gaul, Italy, Dalmatia, Dacia, Mysia, Mace- 
donia, Greece, Africa, Sardinia, Cyprus, Crete, Pamphylia, 
Syria, Isauria, Egypt, Libya, Pontus, Cappadocia, and in all 
the East. Many councils of bishops successively confirmed 
the orthodox faith ; and even those bishops of the East who 
were called Semi-Arians from their not adopting the word 
homousion, and who had been deceived by the real Arians, 
but whose faith differed not from that of the Catholic Church, 
now united in the universal acceptance of the Nicene faith. 
Thus the Arian heresy, when it seemed most prosperous, 
suddenly fell ; and, after lingering for a time under the protoc- 
ol a op/o tion of the Emperor Valens, and afterwards 
a.d. 364-378. , , , . 

amongst the barbarous nations beyond the 

Roman empire, it disappeared from the face of the earth. 

The protection vouchsafed by God to the true faith was 
never more wonderfully exemplified than in the existence and 
final triumph of the Nicene creed. Craft and violence alike 
failed to overthrow the belief of the Church. The truth is, 
that this heresy had never been able to take deep root in the 
Church. Arian bishops in the East governed a people whose 
pious simplicity was unable to detect errors veiled under the 
guise of orthodox language : but when, at length, the real 
tenets of the Arians began to be more openly developed, and 
when the multiplication of creeds, and their internal divi- 
sions, had shown the uncertainty of their faith, and when the 
patronage of the state was withdrawn from their cause, they 
fell at once. 



A.D 320-680. MACEDONIUS. 41 

While the Arian impiety was falling, the enemy of man 
was engaged in drawing forth from it a new temptation for 
the faith of the Church. All Christians had hitherto believ- 
ed that the Holy Ghost was truly the Spirit of God ; but the 
Arian Macedonius taught that the Holy Ghost was merely a 
creature made by the Son, contrary to the words of Christ, 
who described him as the " Spirit of truth, which proceedeth 
from the Father." This doctrine was condemned as anti- 
Christian by many councils in Europe and Asia, but especi- 
ally by the council of one hundred and fifty bishops at Con- 
stantinople, assembled by the Emperor Theodosius, in a.d. 
381, and which, having been ever since universally approved 
by the Church, has been termed the second ecumenical 
synod. On this occasion the Nicene creed was enlarged, in 
order to express the belief of Christians that the Holy Ghost 
is truly God. 

The Macedonian heresy had not many adherents, and did 
not long continue to trouble the Church ; but the disputatious 
and proud spirit of Arianism had engendered a brood of er- 
rors. Sabellianism re-appeared in the person of Photinus ; 
while Apollinaris denied that our Lord possessed a human 
reasonable soul. These errors were universally condemned, 
and their authors were numbered with the heretics. 

Though religion was suffering so grievously from the dis- 
turbances excited by heresies, it continued to expand itself 
among the heathen. Ethiopia was now converted by Fru- 
mentius, who was consecrated the first bishop of the Ethio- 
pians by St. Athanasius. The natives of Georgia, or Iberia, 
and the Goths of Thrace, Mcesia, and Dacia, also received 
the light of the Gospel. St. Martin, bishop of Tours, com- 
pleted the conversion of the Gauls, and is said to have had 
the gift of miracles. Thus did that grain of mustard-seed 
sown by Christ continue to increase. 

The Church was now threatened with new afflictions and 
adversities, in the decay of the Roman empire. Attracted 
by the prospect of an easy spoil, the barbarian nations of the 

4* 



42 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

Goths, Heruli, Vandals, Huns, Franks, Saxons, precipitated 
themselves successively on a luxurious and unwarlike popu- 
lation ; and scenes of the most dreadful carnage and destruc- 
tion overspread every province of the falling empire. The 
greatest portion of its possessions in the West became the 
prey of the invaders ; and the Churches of Britain, Germany, 
Italy, Spain, and Africa, groaned beneath the yoke of hea- 
then or Arian conquerors. In Africa, the Vandals, who were 
Arians, endeavoured to extirpate the true faith by most 
cruelly persecuting its defenders, and by prohibiting all or- 
dinations to the sacred ministry. These savage invaders were 
gradually converted from their errors ; but the destruction of 
learning which they caused exercised a permanently evil in- 
fluence on Christianity. Ignorant themselves, and despising 
all literature, they were devoted only to war and to the 
chase ; and even their conversion to Christianity effected no 
alteration in the national character and tastes. Hence edu- 
cation was despised, the most ordinary literary attainments 
neglected, and, as a sure result, superstitions were gradually 
introduced, and found too ready an acceptance. 

While Christianity was suffering grievous afflictions and 
persecutions from the barbarians, the torch of discord was 
again lighted by the heretic Pelagius, at the end of the fourth 
century. Pelagius denied that human nature is inclined to 
evil, or that man needs the assistance of divine grace to lead 
and assist him to perform good works. This doctrine was 
most strenuously opposed by the illustrious St. Augustine, 
bishop of Hippo in Africa, and was condemned by many 
councils in the East and West, especially by a council of two 
. 17 hundred bishops at Carthage, the decrees of 
which were generally approved by the Church. 
This council excommunicated all those who taught that Adam 
was naturally mortal, so that death was not the punishment of 
sin ; or that it is unnecessary to baptise infants • or that they 
do not derive from Adam any original sin which needs to be 
expiated by regeneration ; or that the words of St. John, 



A.D. 320-680. NESTORIUS. 43 

" If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves," are 
merely to be understood as an expression of humility, not as 
the declaration of a real fact : for, as the decree adds, " the 
following words of the apostle, 'But if we confess our sins, 
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse 
us from all unrighteousness,' show sufficiently that they were 
not mere expressions of humility, but of truth." The heresy 
of Pelagius was finally condemned in the third oecumenical 
synod, of which I am about to speak. 

Nestorius, a vain and arrogant man,* being ordained to 
the patriarchal see of Constantinople, declaimed violently 
against the title of Theotokos, applied by ancient piety to 
the Virgin Mary, signifying that she was the mother of our 
God and Saviour Jesus Christ, — and taught that God the 
Word and the man Christ Jesus were different persons under 
the same appearance. This was contrary to the Scripture, 
which said that "the Word was made flesh," and that God 
N purchased the Church with his own blood ;" implying evi- 
dently that one and the same person, who was both God and 
man, had died for the sins of the world. A council of two 

hundred bishops at Ephesus, and which the ,„., 

i A.D. 431. 

Church reckons as the third oecumenical synod, 

condemned the errors of Nestorius ; and the decision, though 

disputed for a short time, by the bishops of Syria under some 

feelings of jealousy, was speedily adopted by the whole 

Christian world. f St. Cyril of Alexandria had the honour 

* [Nestorius hardly has justice done him, by this statement. Fear of the 
Apollinarian heresy, and a predilection for the peculiar tenets and interpre- 
tations of the Antiochian school, made him over tenacious in opposition to 
phraseology adopted by the Alexandrian school : but the most accurate in- 
vestigations leave little room for doubt that he did not teach the heretical 
doctrine afterwards put forth by some who took part in the dispute, and bore 
his name. — Am. Ed.] 

f [The " decision" of the Council was, more properly speaking, its testi- , 
mony to the fact that the Church had always held the doctrine of the union 
of the Divine and human natures in the one person of the Lord Jesus. From 
this testimony the Bishops of Syria did not dissent. Their difference was 



44 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

of being the principal opponent of this heresy.* The adhe- 
rents of Nestorius, being banished from the Roman empire, 
obtained an establishment from the King of Persia, and have 
continued to exist as a distinct sect even to the present day. 

In opposing the errors of Nestorius, some persons fell into 
the opposite error of confounding the divine and human na- 
tures of our Lord. Eutyches, an abbot at Constantinople, 
taught that in Jesus Christ was but one nature, compounded 
of the divine and human natures ; so that, according to his 
doctrine, our Lord was not properly either God or man, but 
a sort of third being between the two, of a mixed and com- 
pounded nature. Deposed for this heresy by many bishops 
at Constantinople, he was irregularly restored by a synod 
at Ephesus, which under the direction of Dioscorus, bishop 
of Alexandria, acted with the most savage violence against 
the defenders of orthodoxy. The fourth oecumenical 
synod of Chalcedon, consisting of six hundred and thirty 
. F . 1 bishops, finally judged in this cause, and having 
condemned Dioscorus and Eutyches, established 
the true and sound doctrine of the Church, derived from 
holy Scripture, and taught by St. Leo, bishop of Rome, in 
his celebrated epistle, — i. e. that in our Lord Jesus Christ 
there are two perfect and distinct natures, the Godhead and 
manhood, united in one person, without mixture, change, or 
confusion. This doctrine was immediately approved and 
accepted by the great body of Christians throughout the 
world, and has so continued to the present day. The adhe- 
rents of Dioscorus, called Monophysites (i. e. upholders of 
the one nature,) or Jacobites, abounded in Egypt and Syria, 
and their sect has survived in those countries till the present 
day. 

The Church was consoled under these various afflictions 

on the personal question, whether Nestorius and others did heretically de- 
part from the doctrine of the Church. — Am. Ed.] 

* [But not without sullying himself by the use of very unbefitting means. 
—Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 320-680. MONOPHYSITES. 45 

by the conversion of several heathen nations. The natives 
of Libanus and of a portion of Arabia were converted by the 
persuasions and authority of St. Simeon Stylites. The apos- 
tolical labours of St. Patrick were rewarded by the con- 
version of the Irish nation to Christianity. Palladius had 
been previously ordained to the same mission by Coelestinus, 
bishop of Rome ;* but dying soon, was succeeded by St. 
Patrick. The Gospel had indeed already some 409 

adherents in that country, but Christianity now 
became general, and for the next four or five centuries learn- 
ing and religion shed a bright lustre on that remote island, 
when barbarism and ignorance prevailed over the rest of 
Europe. The Church of Ireland during these ages remain- 
ed independent, and was not subject to the papal jurisdiction. 
Clovis, king of the Franks, and founder of the French mon- 
archy, received baptism, with many of his people, from Re- 
migius, bishop of Rheims, a.d. 496. 

The East still remained troubled by the remains of the 
Eutychian heresy, and the West was subject to the dominion 
of savage nations, who either rejected Christianity, or were 
imbued with the Arian heresy, — when a controversy arose in 
the East concerning certain writings of Theodorus, Ibas, and 
Theodoret, which supported the Nestorian heresy, and which 
were used by its adherents to promote their views. A coun- 
cil of one hundred and sixty bishops, assembled at Constan- 
tinople by the Emperor Justinian, and which the ^-~ 
Church acknowledges as the fifth oecumenical 
synod, condemned these writings and various errors of the 
Nestorians, and approved all the doctrine of the four preced- 
ing oecumenical synods. This synod was thus a sort of sup- 
plement to the third oecumenical synod. It was immediately 

* [This is extremely doubtful: or rather, almost certainly untrue. That 
both Palladius and Patrick preached in Ireland, early in the 5th century, is 
certain. That neither of them had any direct connexion with Rome, is in 
the highest degree probable. All else is inextricably involved in doubt. — 
Am. Ed.] 



46 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VII. 

received by the great body of the Church, though some 
bishops in Africa and Italy for a time did not acknowledge it; 
as they supposed, through mistake, that the writings of Theo- 
dore and Theodoret had been approved by the synod of Chal- 
cedon. 

Britain had now been for many years subject to the Saxons, 
who gradually subdued the Christian inhabitants, and formed 
settlements among them. These invaders, however, still 
remained in their heathenism, when St. Gregory the Great, 
bishop of Rome, commiserating their condition, sent St. 
Augustine and other pious brethren to preach the Gospel in 
this country. Arriving about 590, he founded several 
Christian churches ; but the conversion of the Saxons to the 
faith was chiefly due to several holy bishops and missionaries 
from Ireland in the fol lowing century. The ancient churches 
of the Britons which still continued, as well as the Irish 
churches, were not subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop 
of Rome ; nor was the Anglo-Saxon Church for several cen- 
turies, though much reverence was felt for the ancient and 
celebrated Church of Rome, and much assistance derived 
from it in the earlier stages of their existence. 

In the seventh century, a heresy began to be advocated, 
which, like the Eutychian, endangered the doctrine of the 
perfect divinity and perfect humanity of our Lord: for it 
was now asserted, that, after the incarnation, there was but one 
will in our Lord, — that of the incarnate God. But it is 
plain, that if w r e admit the doctrine of two perfect natures, 
each possessed of all its distinctive capacities and faculties, 
the doctrine of two wills, the divine and human, immediately 
follows. If this latter doctrine be denied, then the doctrine 
of two natures cannot be maintained ; so that the Monothe- 
lites, who did deny that two wills perfectly united and har- 
monious, exist in our Lord, were only a branch of the Eu- 
tychians. After a struggle, which continued for more than half 
a century, the Monothelite heresy, and its supporters, Theo- 
dore of Pharan, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul and Peter of Con- 



A.D. 320-680. MONOTHELITES. 47 

stantinople, Honorius, bishop of Rome, Cyrus of Alexan- 
dria, and others, were condemned in the sixth ecumenical 
synod of one hundred and seventy bishops, held at Constan- 
tinople by order of the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus 
in 680. 

The circumstance of Honorius of Rome's condemnation 
for heresy by this synod, which has been clearly established 
by Bossuet, and many other of the most eminent Romish 
controversialists, affords an irresistible proof that the bishops 
of Rome were not infallible in faith, and that the universal 
Church has never acknowledged them to be so. It is also 
worthy of remark, that the sixth oecumenical synod was the 
last which could justly claim the title of universal, or pre- 
tend to represent the judgment of the whole Church. The 
succeeding synods, which are styled universal by Romanists, 
have never been acknowledged by the whole Eastern and 
Western Church, as the early synods were. 1 The seventh 
synod, as it is called, remained rejected by the Western 
Church up to the fourteenth century. The eighth and fol- 
lowing synods have been always rejected by the Eastern 
Churches, even to the present day. 

Whilst the Monothelite heresy was disturbing the Church, 

the false prophet Mahomet and his followers were ~., 

r r A.D. 612. 

conquering the Asiatic possessions of the eastern 

empire, and extending their triumphs through Egypt, and 
along the northern coast of Africa. In Egypt and the East 
the invaders were assisted by the Eutychian and Nestorian 
heretics, and their religion received a degree of favour 
which was denied to the Church. Persecution at length 
assailed the faith of Christians ; and the result was, that 
in Africa, after four or five centuries, we hear no more of 
those five hundred episcopal sees which had formerly shed 
light on that region. In the East, Christianity slowly de- 
clined under oppression and persecution ; but it was always 

1 See Palmer's Treatise on the Church, vol. ii. p. 200-249 



48 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

preserved ; and after the lapse of twelve nundred years, 
there are still many churches in Asia Minor, Syria, Pales- 
tine, and Egypt, though they bear but a small proportion to 
the eight hundred episcopal churches which, in the fifth cen- 
tury, existed in those countries. 

The decline of Christianity in the East and Africa was, 
however, very gradual, and the Church beheld the spread 
of the Gospel amongst many other nations. Christianity 
was now subduing the remnants of paganism in England, and 
exciting there and in Ireland a spirit of apostolical zeal, 
which disseminated the light of truth among many barba- 
rous nations in the west of Europe. The Suevi, Boii, and 
Franks of Germany were converted by St. Columban, in the 
early part of the seventh century. St. Gall became the 
apostle of Switzerland ; St. Kilian, of the eastern Franks ; 
and St. Willibrord, and his companions, of Batavia, Fries- 
land, and Westphalia. These holy missionaries were all 
natives of Ireland, exceot the last, who was an Anglo-Saxon. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



fruits of faith exemplified in the saints and martyrs- 
a.d. 320-680. 

We have now seen the promises of our Saviour verified 
in the continual existence of his true Church, amidst the ter- 
rors of persecution and the temptations of heresy. We have 
seen it expanding itself " from the river to the ends of the 
earth;" and though in some branches " minished and 
brought low," yet containing a principle of vitality which 
enabled it to repair its losses by new and vigorous shoots. 
We have seen those great truths which Scripture teaches 
unanimously and firmly maintained during this period. Let 



A.D. 320-680. FRUITS OF FAITH. 49 

us now contemplate the fruits which that faith continued to 
produce. 

The holy men of this period may be divided into two 
classes : those who spent their time in a private religious life, 
and those who were engaged in the ministry of the Church. 
I shall mention some of the most remarkable men in each 
class successively. 

Many of the most truly pious and holy men whom these 
ages produced, were among those who lived retired from the 
world, and who were engaged solely in the service of God. 
A life entirely devoted to religion, and separated from all do- 
mestic cares, pleasures, and occupations, had been the cha- 
racteristic of the ascetics and sacred virgins* even from the 
time of the apostles ; but the monastic or solitary life was 
first exhibited on a broad scale by Antony and his disciples 
in Egypt, at the latter end of the third and beginning of the 
fourth century. 

In the present age it is, perhaps, difficult to appreciate 
justly the religious character of ascetic religion in the early 
Church. The monastic system of later ages, with its wealth, 
its indolence, the spirit of superstition or of worldly intrigue 
which have too frequently disgraced it, not to speak of still 
more unworthy and degrading faults, has but too justly ex- 
cited the strongest feelings of disapprobation. But we should 
do an injustice to the Christian Church generally, if we ima- 
gined that such corruptions originally prevailed ; or that the 
saints and martyrs lent their countenance to institutions, 
which were either in contradiction to the holy Scripture, or 
injurious to Christian piety, charity, and devotion. 

The Christian who best knows his own heart will most 
deeply feel the continual tendency of the world, with all its 
busy thoughts and interests, to deaden his sense of religion, 
and to withdraw him from the love and service of his Crea- 

* [These certainly did not exist as distinct classes before the end of the 
second century; nor even then, in any thing resembling the form of monk- 
ery. — Am. Ed.] 

5 



■ 

50 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH- VIII 

tor. He will feel that even the best and purest sympathie 
of life require the chastening influence of solemn recollec 
tions and self-denial, to prevent their becoming hindrances ij 
the way of his salvation. Our Lord has said, " He that lovetl 
father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; and hi 
that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy oi 
me. And he that taketh not up his cross and folio wet] 
after me, is not worthy of me." 

It was this that, in those early ages, led many earnes 
Christians, who felt their own infirmities, and sought for sal 
vation, to relinquish the world, its wealth, its pleasures, it 
business and temptations, and to retire into quiet places, fa 
from the noise of cities and the ordinary haunts of men 
where the labour of their own hands procured for them th< 
simplest food on which human life could be sustained, an( 
garments proportioned at once to their poverty and the hu 
mility of their spirit. Thus having fulfilled the apostolic 
precept, to "work," and content with food and raiment, th< 
simple objects to which Christ limited his disciples' earthh 
wishes, they devoted their lives to repentance, to rigoroui 
self-examination, to prayer and psalmody, to the study oi 
God's word, to the continual reception of the sacrament oi 
Christ's body and blood, to works of charity towards the 
sick and afflicted ; in a word, to all the parts of a life en 
tirely religious, and to continual preparation for death. Thej 
literally followed the advice of our Lord to his disciples 
"Sell that ye have, and give to the poor;" and after the 
example of our Lord and of his apostle St. Paul, and in ac 
cordance with their advice to those who were " able to beai 
it," they refrained from the permitted and honourable state 
of marriage, that they might " care for the things of the 
Lord; that they might be holy both in body and in spirit." 
And who can be so cold and so uncharitable as to feel nc 
sympathy with this holy zeal, this self-denying love of God ' 

1 1 Cor. vii. 34. 



l.D. 320-680. ANTONY. 51 

rhe contemplation of such instances of earnest religion 
>ught rather to provoke us to a godly jealousy, to induce 
contrition for our own want of zeal, and to stimulate our 
aith. Those deeds of Christian devotion, the recital of 
vhich so deeply affected the eloquent and profound St. Au- 
gustine, and which were made the immediate instrument of 
lis conversion, cannot be unworthy the attention of Chris- 
ians in any age. It may not be difficult to point out instan- 
ces of enthusiasm, of excessive mortifications, of supersti- 
ion, and of errors, amongst some of the ancient solitaries ; 
»ut it would be hard indeed to rival their religious zeal, their 
ove of God, their ardent pursuit of salvation, and their re- 
olution in casting aside every weight that could detain them 
a their Christian course. 

Antony was born in Egypt, a.d. 251 ; and being left an 
rphan at an early age, he gave his paternal lands to the in- 
labitants of the place where he resided, and, having sold 
lie rest of his possessions, he distributed them among the 
oor. Then associating himself with those who were zeal- 
us in religion, he emulated all their virtues, and finding a 
eligious life delightful in practice, though difficult at the 
ommencement, he continually devised new methods of de~ 
otion, self-denial, and temperance. His food was bread 
nd salt, and water for drink ; and he frequently remained 
asting for two or three entire days. He sometimes passed 
be night without sleep, engaged in continual prayer, in 
/hich a large part of the night was always spent. His couch 
fas a mat, or more commonly the bare ground. After fif- 
3en years thus spent, he retired to a ruined castle in the 
esert, where he remained in perfect solitude for twenty 
ears, and where his existence only was known by those of 
is friends who approached and heard him singing psalms. 
Lt length he was prevailed on to come forth from his retreat, 
nd it was then seen that he was indeed a holy man. His 
oul was calm, unshaken by sadness or joy ; he was neither 
roubled to see the multitudes who came to visit him, nor 



52 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

pleased with their applause. He was exceedingly meek, 
most benevolent, agreeable, and inoffensive to those whom 
he met and conversed with, even though they should differ 
from him. The sanctity of his life influenced many persons to 
follow his example, and place themselves under his guidance, 
and thus the monastic institution commenced in Egypt. St. 
Antony died in 356, at the age of 105. Amongst other in- 
structions, he advised those who were desirous of avoiding 
sin, to occupy themselves with some employment ; " and let 
each of us," he said, "remark and write down the actions 
and movements of his soul, as if we ought to render an 
account of ourselves to each other. Be assured, that the 
shame of being knoivn, will cause us to cease from sin, and 
from evil thoughts : our own writing will supply the place of 
our brethren's eyes." St. Antony is said to have cured 
many sick persons by his prayers. His humility and rever- 
ence for the clergy was very great. He was so humble, that 
he bowed himself before bishops and presbyters ; and, when 
consulted by deacons, he gave them his advice, but did not 
offer prayer before them. He knew no other language but 
the Egyptian, and was not able to read ; but, by continual 
attention, he had perfectly learned the Scriptures. He was 
never ashamed to learn, — listened to every one, — and if any 
person made a useful remark, he acknowledged his obliga- 
tion. His countenance was so pure and calm, so undisturbed 
by any passion, and so full of a holy joy, that they who had 
never seen him were able immediately to distinguish him 
amongst many other brethren. St. Antony supported him- 
self by the labour of his hands, and whatever he possessed 
beyond his immediate necessities he gave to the poor. He 
rarely left his retirement, except to plead the cause of those 
who were oppressed ; for many persons brought their com- 
plaints to him, and urged his intercession in their favour 
with the magistrates. St. Athanasius was on terms of friend- 
ship with this venerable man ; he induced him to come to 
Alexandria, for the purpose of declaring publicly his con- 



A.D. 320-680. EGYPTIAN MONKS. 53 

demnation of the Arian heresy ; a circumstance which was 
of very great service to the cause of orthodoxy. When 
about to depart from this life, he called his disciples, and said, 
" I enter, as it is written, the path of my fathers ; for I see 
that the Lord calleth me." Then recommending them to 
abstain from all communion with the Arians, and not to per- 
mit his body to be carried into Egypt, lest it should be em- 
balmed and preserved in houses, he continued, "Bury it 
yourselves, and cover it with earth, in some place known 
only to you. At the day of resurrection I shall receive it 
incorruptible from the hands of the Saviour. Farewell, my 
children. Antony departs, and is no more with you." Hav- 
ing thus spoken and embraced them, he died. 

Next to Antony, the chief founders of monasteries in 
Egypt were Ammon and Pachomius. By the rule of the lat- 
ter, his disciples were permitted to eat, drink, labour, and 
fast, as they pleased ; but those who eat more abundantly 
were expected to perform more laborious works. On the 
first and last days of the week, all received the holy eucha- 
rist. They prayed twelve times in the day ; and, when about 
to take food, they sang Psalms. 

Ecclesiastical history has preserved several interesting an- 
ecdotes of these virtuous men. Pior was accustomed to take 
his food walking about ; and when asked wherefore he did 
so, he said, " I wish not to regard my eating as a serious 
occupation, but as a superfluity." To another person, who 
made the same inquiry, he said, " It was in order that he 
might not be affected by any bodily enjoyment, even in eat- 
ing." Pambos, not knowing letters, went to some one to be 
taught a psalm, but having heard the first verse of the thir- 
ty-ninth psalm ("I said, I will take heed unto my ways, that 
I offend not with my tongue,") he would not hear the second 
verse, but departed, saying, that this one verse was sufficient 
for him, if he could learn it practically. And when he who 
taught him the verse afterwards reproved him, because he 
had not for some months visited him, Pambos replied, that he 
5* 



54 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

had not yet learned the verse practically : and many years 
after, being asked by an acquaintance whether he had yet 
learned that verse, " In nineteen years," he said, "I have 
scarcely learned to practice it." Pambos, by the invitation 
of St. Athanasius, came from the desert to Alexandria, and 
seeing there a public dancer, who was a sinner, he wept. 
When asked wherefore he wept, he said, " Two things have 
moved me ; first, the end of that woman ; the other, that 
I do not use such diligence to please God, as she does to 
please wicked men." Another brother, named Pitirus, was 
skilled in the physical sciences, and continually explained va- 
rious scientific questions to those who met him, but with each 
of Ins explanations he offered up prayer. A certain disciple 
was informed of the death of his father, but he said to the 
messenger, " Cease to blaspheme, for my father is immor- 
tal." One of the brethren being possessed of nothing but 
the book of the Gospels, sold it, and gave the money to feed 
the poor, saying, " I have sold that same word, which saith, 
Sell all that ye have, and give to the poor." 

~~ Hilarion was the great founder of the 

about a.d. 320. . . o • j ox t> i 

monastic state in Syria ; and fet. .Basil 

carried this discipline into Pontus. It also spread rapidly 
in Persia, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and all the East. It 
was introduced at Milan by St. Ambrose j in Africa, by- St. 
Augustine ; in France, by St. Martin. The number of such 
religious men and virgins in the fourth and fifth centuries was 
exceedingly great. The spirit of earnest religion in those 
days very commonly took this form. The worship of God 
and self-discipline were not their only employments. Manual 
labour was strictly enforced, and all the offices of Christian 
charity were discharged. In particular, the instruction of 
the ignorant, and the conversion of the heathen, occupied 
their attention. Valentinus was at the head of a great con- 
gregation in Coelesyria, where he, with many of his breth- 
ren, lived to a very old age ; and " it appears to me," says 
an ancient historian, " that God prolonged the lives of these 



A.D 320-680. SIMEON STYLITES. 55 

men for the benefit of religion ; for they brought over the 
Syrians in general, and many of the Saracens and Persians, 
from heathenism to Christianity. 5 ' 

The principles of self-denial received in the monastic fra- 
ternities, however laudable when taught and practised in 
moderation, were occasionally pushed to excess and error. 
Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, gave rules to the 
societies in that country ; but he is said, through too great 
strictness, to have fallen into strange observances and prac- 
tices, contrary to the laws of the Church. His disciples 
blamed marriage ; refused to pray in the houses of married 
persons ; despised the married clergy ; fasted even on the 
Lord's day ; held meetings for worship in private houses ; 
and condemned those who eat flesh. For this reason, the 
neighbouring bishops assembled at Gangra, a.d. 370,* and 
declared them separated from the Catholic Church, unless 
they should forsake their errors. 

An example of want of moderation in self-denial and 
mortifications is frequently pointed out in the case of St. Si- 
meon Stylites, who lived in the fifty century. Yet it is im- 
possible not to admit that, with some excesses in these respects, 
there was much to admire and venerate in his piety.t He 
was, at first, a monk in Syria, where he became so remark- 
able by his extreme austerity, that his superiors and com- 
panions judged it excessive, and he was obliged to leave the 
society. He then established himself as an anchorite, or 
perfect solitary, on a mountain near Antioch, where he is 
said to have fasted forty days and forty nights, and to have 
used a degree of mortification which some of the bishops 

* [Others date this council a.d. 324 ; others 340 ; others 364 : the second 
of these dates is probably the true one. — Am. Ed.] 

f [The " excesses" of Simeon were more reprehensible than mere 
li want of moderation in self-denial and mortifications." His multiplied bow- 
ings, protracted watchings, constrained postures, and pillar-isolation, be- 
long to a low class of superstitions, and furnish a melancholy proof of the 
degenerating tendencies of his age. — Am. Ed.] 



56 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

blamed. But the fame of his sanctity spreading far and 
wide, he was followed by so great a multitude of people from 
Arabia, Persia, Armenia, and all the East and West, who 
came to him to see him and touch his garments, that, in or- 
der to avoid their importunity, he constructed a pillar, on 
the top of which he remained for many years, even till his 
death. He was engaged in perpetual prayer and fasting ; he 
believed himself to be the last and lowest of men ; was 
humble, obliging, and kind to all who approached him ; and 
his exhortations were not unblessed by God, for he convert- 
ed a great number of unbelieving Iberians, Armenians, Per- 
sians, and Arabians, who came to see him in troops of two 
or three hundred, or even a thousand, renounced their idols s 
received baptism, and learned Christianity from his mouth. 
Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus, speaks of this as an eye-witness 
of the fact. His piety was held in much reverence by the 
king and queen of Persia, and by the emperors Theodosius 
and Marcian ; the latter of whom went to visit him in dis- 
guise. St. Simeon was a firm and resolute defender of 
the orthodox faith against the Eutychian heresy, and died 
a.d. 461. 

I now turn to the other class of holy men who adorned the 
Church in these ages. I have already spoken of St. Athana- 
* ^ ono o7o SIUS ? tne most renowned champion of the 

A.JD. ,4J70-oio. , . , i. 

true faith against Anamsm a He was sup- 
ported by many holy confessors, especially by Hilary, bishop 

OKA of Poictiers, in France, and Eusebitts, of Vercel- 
a.d. 350. 

or r lse in Italy, who both suffered exile and bonds 

for their faith ; as did Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, 

who, however, afterwards showed an unreasonable degree 

of severity in refusing pardon to those who had fallen in the 

time of the Arian persecution ; and even went so far as to 

separate from the communion of the Church, which general - 

270 S4-0 ^ adopted a milder course. The learned 

Etjsebius, bishop of Caesarea, though at first 

connected with the Arian party, condemned their errors, and 



A.D. 320-680. MARTIN. 57 

collected the history of the Church. St. „ 1p . OQa 

A.D. olO-uoD. 

Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, and Meletius 

of Antioch, though ordained by the* Arians, confessed and 

suffered for the true faith. 

St. Martin, bishop of Tours, was at first onr , orv ~ 

i i i , n A - D - 316-397. 

a soldier, and was so remarkable for his 

charity, that once, in the midst of winter, when the severi- 
ty of the cold was so extreme that many persons died of it, 
having met a poor man at the gate of the city, and having 
nothing else to bestow, he divided his cloak with his sword, 
and gave half of it to the beggar. But the next night he 
saw in a dream his Saviour arrayed in the half of his garment, 
and surrounded by the angels ; and he was so deeply im- 
pressed by his dream, that he gave up the military life and 
was baptised. When he was returning to his native land, 
he was taken prisoner by robbers in the Alps ; but in the 
midst of the greatest dangers, he evinced such magnanimity, 
and so piously exhorted the lawless men by whom he was sur- 
rounded, that one of them believed, and besought Martin to' 
pray for him, and afterwards became a religious man. In 
his own country, Illyria, he so strongly opposed the Arians, 
that he was beaten with rods, and compelled to escape. He 
then fled to the island of Gallinaria, on the coast of Italy, 
with a religious presbyter, where they lived for some time on 
herbs. He was a friend of St. Hilary of Poictiers; and 

passing into France, founded a monastery _ nnr . 

r ° . . . ' „ . / about a.d. 360. 

near roictiers, but was afterwards made 

bishop of Tours by the unanimous choice of the people, 

though he was most reluctant to undertake the office. After 

his consecration, he still retained the same habits of life, the 

same humility of heart, and the same poverty of attire, which 

had always distinguished him ; but to this was united all the 

authority and gravity of a bishop. He for some time lived 

in a little cell attached to the church ; but being disturbed by 

the number of visitors, he founded a monastery two miles off, 

in a desert place, where he lived like all the other monks. 



58 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

The employment of the younger brethren in this society con- 
sisted in transcribing books ; the elders were devoted only 
to prayer and meditation. St. Martin obtained so powerful 
an ascendency over the minds of the people, that he was en- 
abled to overthrow the heathen temples, and build churches 
in their place. When he was invited by the Emperor Maxi- 
mus to dine at his table, he refused, saying that he could not 
partake of the table of a man who had deprived one emperor 
of his throne, and another of his life. When the emperor 
excused himself, alleging that he had been compelled to re- 
ceive the crown, and that he had not done so voluntarily, 
Martin accepted his invitation ; but, to the surprise of every 
one, he gave the cup to his presbyter to drink before the em- 
peror and his relatives. The empress, sitting at his feet, 
listened day and night to his discourses ; and having obtained 
the emperor's permission to entertain him at her own house, 
she attended him at table, performed the humblest offices, and 
preserved the very crumbs which he had left as precious 
relics. St. Martin is said to have been enabled to work mira- 
cles for the conversion of the heathen.* 

St. Basil of Csesarea, and St. Gregory of Nazianzum, 
were united by intimate friendship in their youth, whilst they 
studied at Athens under the most celebrated teachers of the 
age ; and when their studies were completed, Basil returned 
to Csesarea, and from thence went to the monasteries of 
Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria, in order to see the reli- 
gious life in its perfection, and to derive spiritual instruction 
from the pious men who dwelt there. Returning to Pontus, 
he retired to the desert to practice the religious life. Here 
he was soon joined by his friend Gregory Nazianzen ; and 
they continued there for a long time, engaged in prayer, and 
the study of the holy Scripture, which they read with the 
assistance of ancient commentators, especially Origen. 

* [Much that is told of him is of a very questionable character. Yet 
through all the difficulties that surround his history he appears plainly to 
be a great and holy man. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 320-680. BASIL AND GREGORY. 59 

They also laboured with their hands, carrying wood, cutting 
stones, planting and watering trees, and cultivating their 
garden. Nevertheless, they lived in the utmost poverty, and 
on the hardest fare. A great number of other persons imi- 
tated their example, amongst whom was Gregory, afterwards 
bishop of Nyssa, brother of Basil ; and Basil gave rules for 
the monastic life, which are still followed by the monks of 
the order of St. Basil, in the eastern Church. About a.d. 
362, Basil and Gregory Nazianzen were ordained priests, 
but still continued to reside in the desert till 370, when Basil 
came forth to assist Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, against the 
heretics ; and being skilled in the writings of Origen, he and 
Gregory confuted the Arians, who adduced those writings in 
proof of their errors : and though they, with their leader 
Eunomius, had been famed for learning, they appeared per- 
fectly ignorant when they encountered these champions of the 
truth. Basil was soon after elected bishop of Caesarea, in 
Cappadocia ; and fearing lest heresy should prevail in Pontus, 
he passed through the Churches, preaching the true faith, 
and confirming the wavering. When this came to the ears 
of the Arian Emperor Valens, he caused Basil to be brought be- 
fore the tribunal of the Prefect Modestus ; and when the latter 
demanded why he did not embrace the creed of the emperor, 
Basil boldly reproved the Arian heresy ; and when the pre- 
fect threatened death, he replied, " Death will be a favour 
to me, since it will send me unto God, for whom I live, and 
whom I have long sought." The emperor was at last over- 
come by his firmness, and Basil was released. Gregory 
Nazianzen was, against his will, ordained bishop of Sasima 
by Basil. He continued, however, to govern the Church of 
Nazianzum during the lifetime of his father, who was the 
bishop of that see ; and, like Basil, he went through the 
cities and strengthened those who were feeble in the faith. 
Afterwards he resided at Constantinople, where the Arians 
were in great force, and possessed the churches ; and by his 
eloquence he raised the Church there to great prosperity. He 



60 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

was at length installed bishop of Constantinople by the second 
oecumenical synod ; but soon after resigned his see, in con- 
sequence of some divisions which had arisen, and retired to 
QQi Cappadocia, where he died, at the age of more 
than ninety years. St. Basil had died in 379, 
reverenced by all the Christian world. 

Amongst the most illustrious defenders of the true faith 
at this time was Ambrose, archbishop of Milan. He had 
been made governor of that city by the Emperor Valen- 
o 7d tinian ; when, the see becoming vacant by the 
death of an Arian bishop, and the people being 
violently disturbed as to the choice of a successor, Ambrose 
exhorted them to peace and concord, when all demanded at 
once that he should be their bishop. He in vain resisted, and 
attempted to fly. The emperor's commands arrived, and he 
was consecrated bishop. He sold all his goods and gave 
them to the poor, and applied with the utmost diligence to 
the study of holy Scripture. In order to redeem captives 
from the hands of the Goths, he even sold the plate of the 
church, merely reserving what was absolutely necessary. 
His firmness was soon evinced by his resistance to the will 
of the Empress Justina, mother of Valentinian, who pre- 
vailed on the emperor to demand one of the churches in 
Milan for the Arians. St. Ambrose firmly and successfully 
opposed this attempt, though at the peril of his life. The 
Emperor Theodosius having put to death a great multitude 
of people at Thessalonica, in consequence of a tumult hav- 
ing arisen, in which one of his officers was killed, Am- 
brose would not permit his entrance to the church until he 
had performed public penance, and made a law commanding 
all executions to be suspended for thirty days. St. Ambrose 
composed many eloquent and pious books, and died a.d. 397. 

St. John, called Chrysostom (the golden-mouthed) for 
his eloquence, was originally at the bar ; but forsaking the 
path of worldly honour, he retired from the world to devote 
himself to prayer and the study of Scripture ; and after- 



A.D. 320-680. CHRYSOSTOM. 61 

wards, being appointed presbyter of Antioch, he became 
the most celebrated preacher of his age, so that «„- 

when the see of Constantinople was vacant, the 
Emperor Honorius sent for him, and caused him to be or- 
dained bishop by a great synod of bishops. The sanctity 
and severity of doctrine and practice which had made him so 
remarkable at Antioch, led him to exercise a vigilant and un- 
popular strictness of discipline in the imperial city ; and his 
zeal displayed itself further in visiting the neighbouring 
provinces and removing unworthy bishops. The people of 
Constantinople heard his sermons eagerly and insatiably, 
and the crowds were so great that their lives were endangered 
by the multitude, all endeavouring to press nearer to him, 
that they might hear more accurately, while he himself, sit- 
ting in the midst of the church, taught them from the desk of 
the reader. But the severity of his discipline, and his con- 
demnation of vice, raised against him many enemies ; and 
having taken the part of some monks who had been oppressed 
by Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, that prelate, availing 
himself of the assistance of the empress, whom Chrysostom 
had offended by a sermon, in which he spoke of women with 
but little respect, came to Constantinople and held a synod, 
in which Chrysostom was deposed by his enemies. But when 
the people heard it, they assembled in the church, required a 
larger synod to be held ; resisted the imperial officers who 
were sent to take their bishop into exile ; and when, at 
length, he was removed, they broke into insurrection, and 
surrounded the palace with cries and lamentations, demand- 
ing the recall of Chrysostom, which the emperor was obliged 
to grant. Restored to his see by a synod of sixty bishops, 
Chrysostom again, ere long, fell under the imperial dis- 
pleasure in consequence of his objections to the erection of 
a statue of the Empress Eudoxia. He was then driven forth 
into exile in Armenia, where he died : and the , A ~ 

eastern and western Churches were for some 
time divided on his account, as the former maintained the 

6 



62 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. VIII. 

lawfulness of his expulsion, while the latter regarded him as 
a saint. 

St. Jerome and St. Augustine, the most learned of all 
the fathers, now adorned the Church. The former spent the 
greater part of his life in the monastic state, in Palestine, 
and died in 420. St. Augustine was born in Africa, and in 
his early life fell into vices, and adopted the Manichaean 
heresy ; but being at Milan, he became an attendant on the 
ministry of Ambrose, while his pious mother Monica prayed 
continually for his conversion. One day, a Christian, named 
Pontitian, coming to visit him, saw on his table the epistles 
of St. Paul, and learned, to his great joy, that Augustine 
devoted much of his time to the study of Scripture. The 
conversation gradually turned on the life of St. Antony and 
the Egyptian and eastern monks, of whom Augustine had 
never heard before. When Pontitian had described all their 
piety, and self-denial, and zeal, and also mentioned the ef- 
fect which the recital had produced on two officers of the 
emperor at Treves, who, on hearing it had forsaken the 
world, and embraced a religious life, St. Augustine was 
deeply moved by the comparison of his own life and 
conduct with what he had heard, and went forth into the 
garden in the greatest agitation and compunction, where, 
having wept a long time, and prayed to God, he heard from 
a neighbouring house the voice of a child often repeating 
these words, — " Take — read ;" and, regarding it as a sort of 
heavenly admonition, he returned to the house, and took up 
the epistles of St. Paul, when the first verse he read was, 
" Let us walk honestly, as in the day ; not in rioting and 
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in 
strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts there- 
of." His mind was now completely changed : he received 
007 baptism from St. Ambrose, and returned to Afri- 
ca, where he gave himself up to retirement, 
prayer, meditation, and the composition of books against 



A.D. 320-680. ROMAN CHURCH. 63 

the Manichaean heresy. He sold all his possessions and 
gave them to the poor, and was made presbyter, and after- 
wards bishop of Hippo, where he lived in the monastic state. 
His life was devoted to the maintenance of the truth against 
heathens, heretics, and schismatics ; and his various writings 
made him celebrated in all parts of the world. When seized 
with fever, and lying on his death-bed, this eminent saint 
caused the seven penitential psalms to be recited ; and hav- 
ing desired them to be fixed up before him, he read them 
continually with many tears. He commanded that he should 
never be disturbed, and spent his whole remaining time in 
prayer, until at length he calmly and peacefully expired in 
the presence of all his friends, a.d. 430. 

I have already spoken of St. Cyril of Alexandria, and 
St. Leo the Great bishop. of Rome, as the great opponents 
of the Nestorian and Eutychian heresies in the fifth century : 
both of these eminent prelates left many writings, which are 
still extant. St. Benedict, a man of eminent piety and 
zeal, in 529 founded the monastery of Mount Casino, in 
Italy ; and his rule was adopted, for many centuries, by all 
the monasteries in the western Church ; but they very soon 
relaxed the strictness of its observance, and the conduct 
of the monks too frequently reflected disgrace on their pro- 
fession. 



CHAPTER IX. 



UNITY AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH. 

a.d. 320-680. 

Amongst the Christian Churches throughout the world, the 
Church of the imperial city of Rome had obtained an early 
distinction. Seated in the capital of the world, abounding 
in wealth and in numbers, remarkable for a munificence 



64 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IX 

which was felt by the distressed and afflicted in all parts, en 
dowed with a firmness of faith which opposed* a steady and 
formidable resistance to every heresy, and founded by the 
holy apostles Peter and Paul, the Roman Church stood con- 
spicuous amongst Christian communities ; and, even in the 
third century, the neighbouring Churches in Italy, Sicily, and 
the adjoining islands, placed themselves under its jurisdic- 
tion. The first oecumenical synod of Nice approved of this 
jurisdiction, which constituted the patriarchate of Rome; 
but the bishop of Rome had no ordinary jurisdiction beyond 
his patriarchate. The appeals of St. Athanasius and the 
other orthodox bishops, when persecuted by the Arians, to 
Julius of Rome, and the support which they received from 
o m -, that bishop, led the great synod of Sardica to 
give the Roman bishop the power of ordering 
the causes of bishops to be re-heard in cases where it appear- 
ed to him they were unjustly condemned. This decree was 
indeed never received in the eastern or the African Church ; 
and only, after the lapse of some centuries, in the western 
Church ; but it laid a foundation, on which the Roman see 
began to build its pretensions. In the latter part of the 
fourth century, the spirit of encroachment began to work in 
that Church ; its bishops now extended their jurisdiction be- 
yond the ancient limits approved by the synod of Nice, and 
invested the bishop of Thessalonica with the title of " Vicar 
of the Apostolical See" in Illyricum, with the view of bring- 
ing, by this means, that province and Greece under their 
ecclesiastical sway. In the following century, the bishops of 
Aries and of Seville were declared vicars for Gaul and 
Spain : in the sixth, Augustine was made vicar for Britain. 
The principal bishops in each country were thus engaged 
in the interests of Rome, and were encouraged gradually 
to make inroads on the liberties of the Churches. These 
vicars were appointed chiefly under the pretence that the 
Roman bishop was bound by his station to see that the ancient 
discipline of the Church and the law of Christ were duly 



A.D. 320-680. ROMAN CHURCH. 65 

observed ; and this notion was confirmed, if not created, by 
the habit of many bishops in all parts of the world, of con- 
sulting the Roman Church on difficult cases of discipline, 
and frequently adopting its advice. It is true that they mere- 
ly sought the advice of a Church of apostolical antiquity and 
of strict discipline ; but that advice was often given in a tone 
of authority ; and the decretal epistles of the popes, which 
we possess from the time of Siricius (the latter part of the 
fourth century,) formed gradually a body of precedents, 
which led the bishops of Rome and the western bishops to 
ascribe to the former a sort of legislative power in the 
Church, which was in the event productive of the most inju- 
rious consequences. But, during the period now before us, 
the authority of the Roman see, however encroaching, was 
almost always virtuously exercised ; and if it excited some- 
what of a spirit of ambition and encroachment on the part 
of other great sees, the evil was, in some degree, counter- 
balanced by the effective resistance which it was enabled to 
give to heresy, and to the ecclesiastical disorders and cor- 
ruptions introduced by the invasions of the barbarous nations. 
Its efforts were chiefly limited to procure the observation of 
the canons or laws of discipline, made by the oecumenical 
synods ; to encourage the spread of Christianity in heathen 
nations ; and to provide for the necessities and peculiar cir- 
cumstances of newly founded Churches. 

The Church, however, felt that an authority which arose, 
in any degree, from a spirit of encroachment, could not fail 
to be ultimately injurious ; and accordingly the third oecu- 
menical synod, expressly forbad any patriarch to T 
assume jurisdiction over Churches which had not 
from the beginning been subject to his see ; lest, as they said, 
under the guise of religion, the swelling of worldly pride 
should find an entrance, the canons of the fathers be violated, 
and we imperceptibly lose that liberty which Christ purchased 
for us by his blood. According to this canon, is was un- 
lawful for the Roman see to assume any ordinary jurisdiction 

6* 



66 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IX. 

in Britain ; though, when religion had been oppressed by the 
heathen Saxons in that country, Pope Gregory acted most 
laudably in sending missionaries there to convert the barbari- 
ans. But this was only an act of charity, such as any Chris- 
tian bishop might have done ; and could not give his succes- 
sors any right of jurisdiction in England, in opposition to 
the law of the oecumenical synod. Happy, indeed, had it 
been for religion, if the Roman Church had adhered to the 
spirit of this decree, and refrained from adding to its original 
and lawful jurisdiction. 

The rival see of Constantinople now rose suddenly to dig- 
nity and power. When Constantine the Great removed the 
o„ ft seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople, the 
bishop of that city soon obtained jurisdiction 
over the surrounding bishops of Thrace. The second oecu- 

no , menical synod declared him second in dignity 

a.d. 381. - /■-",.-, n ™ i i n r ; 

.- 1 only to the bishop ot Rome; and the fourth 

made them equal in dignity and authority, while 
it sanctioned the jurisdiction which St. Chrysostom and 
his successors had acquired over Asia Minor. The other 
patriarchs were those of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusa- 
lem ; but the patriarch of Constantinople, who was given 
the title of "oecumenical, or universal patriarch" by the 
Roman emperors in the sixth century, became, and has al- 
ways since continued, the head of the eastern Church. 

The communion of Churches received several interrup- 
„ .- tions during this period. After the council of 

Sardica, the eastern and western bishops re- 
mained for some years estranged from mutual communion, 
in consequence of their contentions about St. Athanasius. A 
similar division was caused in the latter part of the same 
S62 centur y by the ordination of two patriarchs of 

Antioch by different parties, one of whom was 
recognised by the eastern, and the other by the western 
Church. This division was healed by the pious care of St. 
Chrysostom. The deposition of that great man, and the 



A.D. 320-680. ROMAN CHURCH. 67 

ordination of another in his place to the see of A ~ A 

A.D. 4U4. 
Constantinople, led to a division between the 

East and West, which continued for many years, until jus- 
tice was done by the Churches of the East to the memory 
of that illustrious bishop. Another division arose, 4ft o 

when Acacius, bishop of Constantinople, having 
caused the re-union of the Monophysites to the Church, on 
principles which left the authority of the fourth oecumenical 
synod in doubt, and thus compromised the truth, was depos- 
ed and excommunicated by Felix, bishop of Rome. The 
great body of the eastern bishops, though orthodox them- 
selves, did not admit the propriety of this act ; and the re- 
sult was, that the eastern and western Churches were again 
estranged from mutual communion for twenty-five years. In 
the following century the Churches of Africa, Tuscany, 
Illyricum, and some others, refused for a time to admit the 
fifth oecumenical synod, and were out of communion with 
the rest of the Church ; but on full inquiry, they adopted the 
general decision. The ancient British and Irish Churches, 
in the sixth and seventh centuries, were treated as schisma- 
tics by the Roman Church, in consequence of their adherence 
to their ancient customs,* and for not submitting to the 
authority of the papal see ; but they were acknowledged as 
Christians by many Churches. 

These divisions, however much they diminished the glory 
of the Church, did not altogether destroy the principle of 
Christian charity. It was still universally held that the 
Church formed but one spiritual fraternity ; that all Chris- 
tians were members of the same body ; and that it was their 
duty to hold communion with each other. When divisions 
arose, excommunication consisted generally in a simple with- 
drawal of communion, without any sentence of anathema, 
or of total separation from Christianity. These withdrawals 
of communion were intended to procure the reformation of - 

* [For which they truly pleaded apostolical warrant, in the practice of 
St. John, derived to them through the churches of Gaul. Am. Ed.] 



68 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. X. 

the offending party ; and the divided Churches always retained 
the same principle of veneration for Scripture, as interpreted 
by the doctrine of the universal Church in all past ages, and 
sincerely endeavoured to be re-united to their brethren in 
Christ. 



CHAPTER X. 



ON THE RISE OF ABUSES AND CORRUPTIONS. 

a.d. 320-680. 

The strong faith of the early Christians in some instances 
degenerated into credulity. Accustomed to the contempla- 
tion of the miracles recorded in the holy Scriptures, and still 
continuing to hear of occasional miracles wrought for the 
conversion of the heathen, they received with too ready a 
credence many tales of wonders and signs which superstition 
or imposture spread abroad. In western Europe, the igno- 
rance of a long night of political barbarism and warfare ren- 
dered the multitude prone to the reception of such errors. 
Men of eminent sanctity were supposed to have the power 
of working miracles by their prayers ; and the veneration 
which attached to their persons when living followed them 
beyond the grave. 

The Church has not always been gifted with a spirit of 
wisdom and foreknowledge to discern the future abuses of 
opinions and practices, which it originally permitted without 
reproof. Could the pious fathers of the fourth century, who 
in their orations apostrophised the departed saints and mar- 
tyrs, and called for their prayers to God, have foreseen the 
abuses to which this practice was to lead ; could they have 
known that these expressions of an ardent, though somewhat 
unregulated feeling, were to induce others, in process of 
time, to adopt such invocations as a stated portion of their 
daily worship — to lead in later ages to actual prayers ad- 



a.d 320-680. abuses. 69 

dressed to the saints themselves, and to cause such prayers 
and invocations almost to supplant the worship of God among 
the ignorant or superstitious, — they would have carefully 
avoided the introduction of a practice so dangerous to true 
religion. Yet during the period before us, the invocation 
of saints, however superfluous and unwise, neither usurped 
so large a portion of the worship of Christians, nor was in 
itself so censurable, as it became in after-ages. It consisted 
simply in addresses to the saints to pray to God for us ; nor 
is there any evidence that it was a universal practice. The 
invocation of angels was directly prohibited by the council 
of Laodicea, in the fourth century ; yet in the seventh it was 
introduced into some litanies of the western Church. The 
invocation of saints also appeared for the first time in public 
worship in these formularies. 

The same affection, the same veneration, with which the 
spirits of the saints and martyrs were regarded by the early 
Christians, attended their earthly remains ; and the same 
credulity of individuals led to the circulation of an opinion 
that even their inanimate relics could procure blessings for 
those who touched them with faith, since the dead bones of 
the prophet Elisha, the hem of our Lord's garment, and the 
handkerchiefs from St. Paul's body, had wrought miracles. 
Hence the relics of martyrs and saints were, in the fourth 
and following centuries, regarded with very great veneration 
in many parts of the Church ; and they gradually even be- 
came temptations to the ignorant and enthusiastic, who too 
willingly received the tales of marvels which they were said 
to have worked, and sometimes seemed inclined to forget 
the Author and Giver of all good things, in their admiration 
of the gifts which they attributed to his creatures. The de- 
sire of possessing such relics became so great in the fifth 
and following centuries, that it led dishonest men to produce 
a number of spurious relics ; so that, after the lapse of some 
ages, it became almost impossible to distinguish the true from 
the false. The custom of placing relics in churches, which 



70 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. X. 

began in the fourth or fifth century, and became universal 
in the seventh, also contributed to swell the number of false 
relics. No one will deny that the remains of martyrs and 
holy men ought to be treated with honour and respect ; but 
when this assumes the character of superstitious or idolatrous 
worship, the Church is bound to remove the cause of such 
abuses. It was this that led the Church of England, in the 
sixteenth century, to remove the alleged relics of saints, — a 
measure which was justified by a strong necessity. 

It was a pious and natural feeling of love, which led many 
Christians, in the fourth and following centuries, to make 
pilgrimages to visit the scenes of our Saviour's life and death, 
and the tombs of the martyrs and saints whose virtues had 
adorned Christianity. But this custom led to serious abuses : 
it led clergy as well as laity to forsake the sphere of their 
appointed duties, and to consume their time in wandering 
over the earth. After the period of which I am now speak- 
ing, the evil increased much ; and St. Boniface, about 750, 
complained of the disgrace which religion suffered from the 
sinful lives of many persons who had undertaken such jour- 
neys. This practice even became one means by which the 
ancient penitential discipline was subverted ; for it was cus- 
tomary with some bishops, after the period now before us, to 
commute the lengthened canonical penances for pilgrimages 
to Jerusalem or to some other holy place. 

The use of pictures or sculptures representing our Sa- 
viour, the chief events of sacred history, or the saints, was 
not unfrequent in the fifth and sixth centuries. These pic- 
tures were only intended for ornament, for the information 
of the ignorant, or to excite pious recollections : all worship 
to them was forbidden. St. Epiphanius, tore the 
vail of a church on which the picture of a saint 
was embroidered. Serenus, bishop of Marseilles, about 
600, destroyed images which the people worshipped ; and 
Pope Gregory the Great, while he questioned the propriety 



A.D. 320-680. ABUSES. 71 

of the act, yet equally disapproved of the abuse it was de- 
signed to prevent. 

The evils of which I have been speaking were all engraft- 
ed on opinions or practices in themselves blameless or excusa- 
ble ; and it was frequently difficult to distinguish precisely 
between right and wrong ; to trace the boundary between pie- 
ty and superstition. But as the Scriptures were still under- 
stood by many of the people, we have reason to believe that 
such evils could not yet have been of a very serious character 
or wide prevalence. 

Another evil was slowly growing, at the close of the period 
now under consideration. When Christianity was first dis- 
seminated, the earliest gift of the Holy Spirit was that of 
tongues, in order that every nation might hear in its own 
language the wonderful works of God, and that every tongue 
might confess that Jesus is the Lord. Accordingly, at first, 
every nation employed its own language in the worship of 
God ; for, as St. Paul said to those who celebrated the eu- 
charist in a language unknown to their hearers, " When 
thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth 
the room of the unlearned say Amen, at thy giving of 
thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest ?' 51 
Guided by these apostolical instructions, the Greeks used 
their own language in divine service. The Churches of 
Syria and Mesopotamia used the Syriac language ; the 
native Egyptians Coptic ; the Grecian colonies at Alexan- 
dria, and in Sicily and Naples, prayed in Greek. The 
Ethiopic was used in Abyssinia, the Armenian in Arme- 
nia, Sclavonic in Russia, and Illyric in Illyria. The Latin 
was vernacular in Italy, Africa, Spain, Gaul, and was em- 
ployed in the liturgy of those Churches. Even after the 
Goths and other barbarous nations had invaded the West, 
the mass of the Christian population still spoke the Latin 
language ; and for several ages it did not become so corrupt- 
ed by the admixture of foreign words as to be unintelligible 
1 1 Cor. xiv. 16. 



72 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. X. 

to the people. The same observation may be applied gene- 
rally to the eastern Churches, in which the language of the 
liturgy long continued to be more or less understood by the 
people. The period in which it ceased to be so, must be 
placed after the ages now under consideration ; but an un- 
wisely-applied reverence for the ancient liturgies of the Church 
led, in the sixth and following centuries, to the adoption of 
Latin services in the newly-founded Churches of England, 
Germany, and the northern nations ; a measure which was 
certainly much less excusable than the retention of the an- 
cient language in the other parts of the West. It is true, indeed, 
that the validity of the sacraments was not vitally affected 
by their being administered in a language understood only by 
the minister, provided that the recipients were instructed in 
the meaning of the essential rites and prayers, and taught to 
unite their supplications with those of the Church : but this 
could only be an indifferent substitute for that united worship 
in voice and heart, which the Church had universally receiv- 
ed from the apostles ; and it had a tendency to cause, in the 
less informed part of the community, a blind and superstitious 
dependence on the effects of the sacraments, to the neglect of 
all preparation on their own parts, instead of an enlightened 
and spiritual apprehension of those sacred mysteries and 
graces which are conveyed by the sacraments only to the 
penitent and believing soul. 

The discipline of the Church with regard to the marriage 
of the clergy was different in the East and the West. In 
the former, the clergy were generally married, though it was 
not permitted them to contract marriage after ordination. It 
was only in 692 that a different rule was adopted with regard 
to the oriental bishops, who were then obliged to observe 
celibacy : the remainder of the clergy have continued to fol- 
low the ancient practice even to the present day. The dis- 
cipline of the western Church generally, from the fifth cen- 
tury, prohibited married clergy, as it was supposed that they 
could less perfectly devote themselves to the office of the 



a.d. 320-680. abuses. 73 

ministry. But the experience of ages showed that this dis- 
cipline was very inexpedient, as it was plainly not enjoined 
by any Divine command ; and from the tenth to the twelfth 
century considerable numbers of the western clergy were 
married ; but the Roman pontiffs after that enforced celibacy 
with extreme severity. 

The -great majority of the early Christians, if we may 
judge by the writers of the first four centuries, held that 
immediately after this life the righteous were admitted to a 
region of peace and happiness : but as they believed that the 
soul would be re-united to the body at the last day, before 
ascending into heaven, and therefore that it was not yet in a 
state of such perfect blessedness as admitted of no increase ; 
and as it was the opinion of many, that the saints were to 
rise from the dead before the rest of mankind, and to share 
in the glory of the millennium, — it was customary in the 
Church, from the remotest antiquity, to offer prayers for the 
perfect peace and joy of the departed believers, and for 
their participation in the first resurrection. It was also the 
opinion of Origen, and of several other fathers, that at the 
last day, all believers, without exception, shall pass through 
some fire, which shall purge away all traces of sin and im- 
perfection, and render them meet for the presence of God. 
This opinion, however, was not received by Christians as 
an article of faith. St. Augustine, in the fifth century, re- 
garded it only as " not incredible" that some of the faithful 
may after this life be saved by a sort of purifying fire. Gre- 
gory the Great, first maintained the doctrine that finn 
there is a purgatory fire, before the day of judg- 
ment, for slight faults not repented of in this life : this doc- 
trine he founded chiefly on certain alleged visions of souls 
in torment for their sins. Thus began the doctrine of pur- 
gatory, which, however, was never received by the eastern 
Church, and was only gradually adopted in the West. Even 
in the twelfth century, as we learn from Otto of Frisingen, 
it was only held by " some" writers ; and it was never de- 

7 



74 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XI. 

clared an article of faith till 1438, in the council of Florence, 
the authority of which has always been doubtful even among 
Romanists. 



CHAPTER XL 

PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 

a.d. 680-1054. 

The period on which we now enter presents many painful 
features in the history of the Church. The temptations of 
heresy had indeed now been almost exhausted ; and the hu- 
man mind, wearied with novelties and dissensions, reposed 
itself more implicitly on the authority of the Church : but 
ignorance and barbarism were fast overspreading the traces 
of ancient civilization, and religion too often became ming- 
led with superstition. The perpetual state of warfare be- 
tween rival princes, the feebleness of governments, unable 
to control their powerful and turbulent subjects, caused a 
general lawlessness and disorder, destructive of those habits 
which are most congenial to Christianity. Add to this the 
incursions and ravages of Saracens, Danes, and Normans, 
which threw all the west of Europe into confusion ; the in- 
surrections and inroads of Saxons, Sclavonians, Hungari- 
ans, and Turks, which equally disturbed the east and the 
north ; and we may then see the difficulties under which re- 
ligion laboured, and which were in many respects most in- 
jurious to her. But even in these ages we continue to see 
the fulfilment of our Saviour's promises to his Church. The 
kingdom of Christ was still expanding itself from the river 
to the ends of the earth ; the tree sprung from a grain of 
mustard-seed still showed the vigour of its constitution by 
putting forth new and flourishing branches ; and the fruits of 
the Holy Spirit's influence, the pledge of our Lord's per- 



A.D. 680-1054. PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 75 

petual presence with his body the Church, were abundantly 
manifested in the midst of many scandals and sins. It may be 
said with truth, I believe, that the progress of Christianity in 
the world during these dark ages was scarcely less than 
during the first three centuries of its existence. 

In the eighth century, the Saracens crossed from Africa 
into Spain, and having subdued the forces of ^ ^ ^^ 
Roderic, the last king of the Goths, in a pitched 
battle, made themselves masters of the whole country. They 
even threatened France, but were defeated with dreadful 
slaughter by Charles Martel, and compelled to -go 

retire within the limits of Spain. They subdued 
Sardinia, and ravaged Italy and Sicily (of which ^v 

last they afterwards took possession) so terribly, 
that in many places the number of towns was reduced by 
one half. Christianity, however, subsisted under the do- 
minion of the Saracens in the West, as well as in the East, 
though much oppression was experienced by believers, and 
some were even delivered to death for the name of Jesus 
Christ. But the losses of the Church under the Saracen do- 
minion were counterbalanced by numerous conversions in 
the north of Europe. Christianity was still spreading 
amongst the Anglo-Saxons ; it was carried far and wide 
amongst the Thuringians, Frieslanders, and Hessians, in Ger- 
many, by St. Boniface, or Winfrid, a monk 71 - „ 
of the order of St. Benedict, and a native of 
England. Rupert and Corbinian, two French bishops, were 
invited by Theodo, duke of Bavaria, early in the eighth cen- 
tury, to preach the Gospel in his dominions ; and the former 
baptised that prince, with a large number of his people. 
Christianity was then established and bishoprics were found- 
ed in Bavaria. Firmiri preached the Gospel with great 
zeal in Alsatia, Bavaria, and Switzerland ; and Lebuin, a 
native of England, laboured amongst the Saxons. Carinthia re- 
ceived Christianity from Bavaria, the duke of 7fifi ~ ftft 
Carinthia having requested Virgilius, bishop 



76 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XI. 

of Saltzburg, to send clergy to instruct his people. St. Vir- 
gilius, who was a native of Ireland, and remarkable for his 
learning and piety, afterwards visited Carinthia, and con- 
firmed the new Christians in the faith. In the latter part of 
the eighth century, the Emperor Charlemagne having con- 
quered the greater part of Germany and Hungary, establish- 
ed churches throughout his dominions, and obliged his sub- 
jects to adopt the Christian religion. In the early part of 
the ninth century, St. Anschar, a monk of Corby in West- 
phalia, laid the foundations of the Church in Cimbria, Den- 
mark, and Sweden, in which he was assisted by Anthbert, 
Ebbo, and many other pious missionaries. 

The eastern Church was now also engaging in the same 
holy work. Methodius and Cyril, two Greek monks, con- 
verted to Christianity the Mcesians, Bulgarians, Gazarians, 
Bohemians, and Moravians, about the middle of this cen- 
tury; and the Sclavonians, Aretani, and other nations of 

OP ~ Dalmatia, having expressed a wish to embrace 
a.d. 8o7. ° l 

the Christian religion, they were instructed and 

baptised by missionaries from the eastern Church. The 
vast nations of Russia were also added to the Christian 
Church in this and the following century; first by the per- 
suasions of the missionaries sent by Ignatius, patriarch of 
Constantinople, and afterwards by the example of Wlodimir, 
the sovereign of Russia, who was baptised in 987. The 
savage Normans, who had invaded and seized a portion of 
Q1 2 France, now followed the example of their duke 
Rollo, and embraced the faith ; while the con- 
version of Sweden was completed by Sigfrid ; and that of 

n™ Norway by Guthebald, who went forth on 
about A.D. 990. J J 9 

this holy mission from the Church of Eng- 
land. Micislaus, duke of Poland, adopted the Christian re- 
ligion in 995; and his example so wrought on his subjects, 
that in a few years they professed the faith, and many epis- 
copal sees were founded in that country. Some of the Hun- 
garians were converted and baptised by Hierotheus, a bishop 



A.D. 680-1054. FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 77 

who was sent to them from Constantinople ; abou( . A ^ g5 ^ 
but the conversion of that nation is chiefly 
attributable to the pious zeal of their king Stephen, who hav- 
ing been educated a Christian, resolved to cause his subjects 
to embrace the true religion ; and having subdued a revolt 
of his pagan subjects, soon after his accession to gg~ 

the throne, he devoted himself to the propaga- 
tion of the Gospel with earnest prayer and almsgiving ; and 
sending for Christian teachers from the adjoining countries, 
he encouraged and assisted them so effectually, that idolatry 
was entirely banished from his dominions, and ten bishops 
were ordained for the superintendence of the new Churches. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ON THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

a.d. 680-1054. 

That the faith of Christians during this period did not vary 
from what it had formerly been, is proved by the universal 
adoption of the Nicene creed as the rule of faith, and by 
the veneration felt by all believers for the decrees of the six 
holy oecumenical synods. The Trinity, incarnation, atone- 
ment, the necessity of Divine grace, original sin, the need 
of good works, and all the other doctrines taught from the 
beginning by the Church, were still universally believed. 
We hear little indeed in these ages, comparatively speaking, 
of heresies : those which did appear seem not to have had 
much influence. The errors concerning our Lord's nature, 
which were taught by Elipandus in Spain in the eighth cen- 
tury, and which were connected with the Nestorian heresy, 
were condemned by the great council of Frankfort in 
794, and they disappeared soon afterwards. The doc- 
trines of the Paulicians in the ninth century, and of Be- 

7* 



78 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XII. 

rengarius* in the eleventh, seem to have obtained but few 
adherents ; and we can scarcely point to any other errors in 
faith, which were at this time sustained by bodies of men. 
The same great truths of religion were universally adopted ; 
the same Scriptures were diligently studied by all who had 
the means of doing so, — for in those days, before the inven- 
tion of printing, when all books were transcribed by manual 
labour, they were both scarce and expensive ; and an univer- 
sal appeal was made to the sentiments of the ancient fathers 
and councils in the interpretation of the Bible. 

The grand controversy of the eighth century was on a 
point of Christian morality — the use of images. It is ad- 
mitted, even by those who approve most highly of their use, 
that it is no part of Christian duty to possess such memorials ; 
that there is no injunction to that effect in holy Scripture ; 
and that it would be idolatrous to offer them any adoration, 
as if they were deities, or to attribute to them any peculiar 
power in themselves. Yet experience informs us that the use 
of images cannot long continue without the danger of such 
errors. 

We have already seen instances of a tendency to super- 
stition with regard to images. This was carried still further in 
the East in the course of the seventh and eighth centuries ; 
so that the people in order to do honour to the saints and 
martyrs, bowed, lighted candles, and offered incense before 
their pictures. It is true that, in acting thus, it was in- 
tended rather to honour the saints themselves than their 
pictures; but the tendency of such customs to cause su- 
perstition and even idolatry amongst the ignorant, is too ob- 
vious to be overlooked. The Greek emperors, Leo, Con- 

* [It is very questionable whether Berengar is chargeable with any error : 
indeed, there is hardly room for doubt that his troubles grew out of his firm 
adherence to the doctrine of the Church concerning the real presence of 
Christ in the Eucharist in its simple form, in opposition to the novel and 
heretical explanations of Paschasius Ratbert and others, since adopted by 
the Church of Rome. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 680-1054. IMAGES. 79 

I 

stantine Caballinus, and several of their successors in the 
eighth and ninth centuries, seeing these abuses, and desirous 
to free the Church from them, commenced reformation by- 
breaking down all images, and persecuting those who wished 
to retain them. To accomplish their object, originally good, 
the Iconoclasts did not hesitate to condemn the use of any 
pictures, as absolutely contrary to the word of God, and thus 
placed themselves in the attitude of arraigning the practice 
of the universal Church for some centuries as anti-Christian ; 
a line of argument which was as inconsistent with trust in 
the Divine promises as it was with Christian charity. The 
western Church at this time generally permitted the use of 
pictures or images, but forbade any sort of religious honour 
or worship to be paid to them ; and hence, when the bishops 
of the East, to the number of 338, assembled in «,_, 

synod at Constantinople, and condemned the use 
of images as idolatrous, the western Churches disapproved of 
the decree. 

After many years, the party in favour of images obtained 
a temporary triumph in the East, on a change of govern- 
ment. A synod of 350 bishops at Nice, reversed ~ ol ^ 

i • • i i /-m .i A.D. tot. 

the decision formerly made at Constantinople, 
and decreed the lawfulness of images, and the propriety of 
paying to them a certain honour, by bowing, lighting candles, 
and offering incense before them, which honour was sup- 
posed to pass to the person represented, and to be altogether 
different from the worship which is due to God only. But 
this synod was soon afterwards rejected by the eastern Church, 
and so remained till the year 842 ; while the bishops of the 
West, to the number of 300, in the great synod ~q . 

of Frankfort, annulled the decrees of the synod 
of Nice, which they forbade to be numbered amongst the 
oecumenical synods, and rejected all worship of images. 
The western Churches re nained for several centuries in the 
same sentiments. The his orians and other writers, from 
the eighth to the fourteenth century, almost always term the 



80 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XII. 

synod office a "pseudo-synod," or "false synod/' and 
condemn its doctrine. It was observed by a Greek writer in 
the time of the crusades (the twelfth century) that the Ger- 
mans did not permit the use of images. However, at length, 
superstition in this respect became very common in the West, 
— an evil which was very much caused by the support always 
given by the bishops of Rome to the decisions of the Nicene 
synod. 

It appears plainly, from a review of the whole history, that 
it was always the wish and intention of the universal Church, 
to prevent any idolatrous or divine worship of images, and 
to direct the veneration of Christians to the persons whom 
they represent. But this intention could not be realised in 
the case of the ignorant and superstitious, who must always 
form a great portion of the community ; they were placed in 
most imminent danger of worshipping the images themselves 
w T ith divine honours ; and we know that in later times the 
abuses in this respect were most lamentable. The removal 
of images at the Reformation was, in fact, only carrying out 
the intention of the universal Church in the eighth and fol- 
lowing centuries, when experience had amply proved that 
they could not generally be used without danger of idolatry. 
It had been held by Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, even in 
the ninth century, that images ought to be destroyed when 
they gave rise to idolatrous abuses ; as Hezekiah had 
broken the brazen serpent when it was worshipped by the 
people. 

In the ninth century the doctrine of the holy eucharist be- 
came the subject of discussion. It had never been denied by 
the Catholic Church, that this sacrament, when consecrated, 
continues to be bread and wine, according to the words of the 
apostle, " The bread which we break, is it not the commu- 
nion of the body of Christ?" and of our Lord, " I will drink 
no more of this fruit of the vine" &c. But Paschasius 
Ratbcrt, a French monk, in the ninth century, attempted to 
prove that the sacrament is no longer bread and wine after 



A.D. 680-1054. PRIVATE CONFESSION. 81 

the consecration, but only the real body and blood of Christ, 
the same in all respects with that which was born of the Vir- 
gin. This doctrine, which has been termed the doctrine of 
transubstantiation in later ages, gradually obtained many 
adherents in the western Churches, though it was opposed at 
first by several of the most eminent divines. Scotus, in op- 
posing it, fell into serious errors, as he declared the eucharist 
to be a bare sign of the body and blood of Christ, contrary 
to the universal belief of the Church; 1 and in this error he 
was followed by Berengarius in the eleventh century,* whose 
doctrine was justly condemned by several councils ; though 
it is to be regretted, that his opponents occasionally used ex- 
pressions with reference to the eucharist, which were incon- 
sistent with the spiritual character of that holy mystery. 
This controversy only existed in the western Churches ; the 
eastern Churches continued to retain their ancient doctrines 
undisturbed. 

During these ages, the practice of private confession to a 
priest was not held generally to be a matter of necessity. 
We have already seen this custom abolished (as a pre-requi- 
site to the reception of the eucharist) in the East, by Necta- 
rius, patriarch of Constantinople in the fourth century, and 
by the majority of the eastern Church. It was still practised 
in many parts of the West, but was not regarded as an es- 
sential of religion. Bede and Alcuin recommended Chris- 
tians to confess to the ministers of God all the grievous sins 
which they could remember. But others, as we learn from 
Alcuin and Haymo, would not confess their sins to the priest ; 

1 The Catechism of the Church of England declares that " the body and 
blood of Christ" are " verily and indeed taken and received by the faith- 
ful in the Lord's supper." And the twenty-seventh Homily says that a in 
the supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony, no bare sign, no untrue 
figure of a thing absent." 

* [This was long held to be the case ; yet not without doubt. See Mo- 
sheim. But it has lately been disproved, by the publication of a treatise 
of Berengar, fuller and later than any before known, which plainly shows 
his view of the sacrament to have been different from that of Scotus. See 
above, p. 78, note. — Am. Ed.] 



82 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XII. 

but said, " it was sufficient for them to confess their sins to 
God alone, provided that they ceased from those sins for the 
£-.0 time to come." The council of Cavaillon,in the 
time of the Emperor Charlemagne, aknovvledgcd 
that it was still a matter of doubt whether confession to the 
priests was necessary, in addition to confession before God ; 
and they attributed the pardon of sins to the latter. " Some 
persons say that they ought to confess their sins only to God, 
and some think that they are to be confessed unto the priests; 
both of which, not without great fruit, is practised within the 
holy Church. Namely, thus ; that we both confess our sins 
unto God, who is the forgiver of sins, (saying with David, 
' I acknowledge my sins unto thee, and mine iniquity have I 
not hid.' 'I said, I will confess against myself, my trans- 
gressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of , 
my sin ;) and, according to the institution of the apostle, con- 
fess our sins one unto another, and pray one for another, that 
we may be healed. The confession therefore which is made 
unto God purgeth sins ; but that which is made unto the 
priest teacheth in what sort those sins should be purged." 

It may perhaps be advisable to carry our view of this sub- 
ject beyond the period now under consideration, and to no- 
tice the difference of opinions in the western Church pre- 
viously to the Reformation. Gratian, about 1130, collected 
the opposite decisions of the ancients as to the necessity of 
external confession, and concluded thus : " Upon what au- 
thorities, or upon what strength of reasons, both these 
opinions are grounded, I have briefly laid open. But whether 
of them we should rather cleave to, is reserved to the judg- 
ment of the reader. For both of them have for their fa- 
.. 01 r vourers both wise and religious men." The coun- 
cil of Lateran directed the faithful to confess 
their sins to a priest once a-year ; but, notwithstanding this, 
the necessity of such a confession was not generally admitted. 
Semeca, the earliest commentator on the canon law ; Michael 
of Bononia, prior general of the Carmelites ; Panormitanus, 



A.D. 680-1054. FRUITS OF FAITH. 83 

and a number of eminent writers, asserted that confession to 
a priest was not instituted by God, but introduced solely by 
the authority of the Church, and that it was not necessary for 
the pardon of sin. And this difference of opinion existed in 
all Churches of the Roman communion, until the coun- 
cil of Trent, when the divine institution and absolute neces- 
sity of confession to a priest were declared to be articles of 
faith, which no one should deny on pain of anathema. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ON THE FRUITS OF FAITH. 

A.D. 680-1054. 



. I have already adverted to the great difficulties under 
which religion now laboured from the disorganization of tem- 
poral governments, and the ravages of barbarians. During 
these ages, nothing was more frequent than the usurpation of 
ecclesiastical revenues by kings and feudal lords, or their 
desecration by the appointment of clergy who were incapa- 
citated by youth or ignorance for the discharge of their du- 
ties, and who had nothing to recommend them but nobility 
of birth. These abuses occurred particularly within the 
dominions of the emperors in Italy, France, and Germany, 
where it had been the policy of Charlemagne and his succes- 
sors to invest the bishops and monasteries with great territo- 
ries and princely dignities, in the hope that these ecclesias- 
tics would prove more faithful and obedient subjects than the 
temporal barons, whose turbulence they had found it so diffi- 
cult to repress. Churches and monasteries were frequent- 
ly burned or pillaged by the feudal chieftains, or by Saracens, 
Normans, and Danes. Thus the schools of learning were 
extinguished, discipline became relaxed amidst the general 
confusion ; and while the clergy were in many places insuf. 



84 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

ficiently educated, the laity fell into extreme ignorance and 
degradation. We find grievous lamentations over such evils 
amongst the writers of these ages ; yet there is every reason 
to believe that there was a spirit of repentance at work which 
could not fail to produce very salutary effects. Those 
bishops who, when assembled in solemn council, had the 
courage to proclaim before the world their own remissness, 
and to confess their sins, with resolution of amendment, could 
neither have been deficient in a knowledge of their duty, nor 
in a spirit of Christian humility and repentance. 

Hervey, archbishop of Rheims, and eleven other bishops 
qoq assembled at Trosle in France, spoke thus : " As 
the first men lived without law and without fear, 
given up to their passions, so every one now doeth as he 
pleases, despising all laws human and divine, and the direc- 
tions of the bishops. The powerful oppress the weak : vio- 
lence against the poor, and the plunder of ecclesiastical pos- 
sessions, are universal. And that it may not be imagined 
that we spare ourselves — we who ought to correct others : 
we have indeed the name, but we do not fulfil the duties of 
bishops. We neglect preaching ; we see those who are 
committed to our care abandon God and fall into sin, with- 
out addressing them and stretching forth our hands ; and if 
we wish to reprove them, they say as in the gospel, that we 
bind on them heavy burdens, and will not touch them our- 
selves with the end of our fingers. Thus the Lord's flock 
perishes through our silence. Let us think what sinner has 
ever been converted by our discourses, or who has renounced 
debauchery, avarice, pride. Yet we shall render an account 
without ceasing of this business, which has been intrusted 
to us, in order that we may gain profit by it." " It has hap- 
pened through our negligence, our ignorance, and that of 
our brethren, that there are found in the Church an innumer- 
able multitude of people of every sex and condition, who ar- 
rive at old a^e without ever being; instructed in the faith, so 
that they are ignorant even of the words of the Creed and 



A.D. 680-1054. VENERABLE BEDE. 85 

Lord's Prayer. If there should seem to be any thing good in 
their lives, yet how can they do good works without the foun- 
dation of faith?" These expressions, and the earnest exhor- 
tations of the synod, show that there was still a spirit of real 
repentance in this part of the Church, notwithstanding the 
multitude of evils and sins. 

Nor has there ever been a period in the history of the 
Church, when the spirit of religion, where it existed, was 
more ardent and earnest. The religion of these times was 
less learned, less accomplished, less free from superstition, 
than that of earlier ages ; but it can scarcely be said to have 
been less zealous, less productive of good works. Its' char- 
acteristics were, the deepest humility, renouncement of self, 
denial of the passions, and even the enjoyments and pleasures 
of the world ; the concentration of all washes and desires in 
the glory of God, and the promotion of practical religion ; 
boundless charity to the poor ; the foundation of churches, 
schools, and religious houses ; diligent study of the Scrip- 
ture, singing of psalms, and much prayer. We see not mere- 
ly one or two, but hundreds of men forsaking all their earth- 
ly prospects, the resorts of their youth and the paths of am- 
bition, to devote themselves to the conversion of the heathen. 
We see them desiring and rejoicing to die for Christ ; and by 
their patience, piety, and wisdom, bringing multitudes of 
heathen into the way of salvation. We see many of the 
most powerful monarchs engaged in all the exercises of con- 
tinual devotion and charity, or descending from the summit 
of earthly grandeur to spend the remainder of their days in 
penitence and prayer. However sad may have been the 
calamities of the Church, and however great the faults of 
Christians, yet when we see such things as these, we cannot 
refrain fronr the conviction that the Spirit of God was still in- 
fluencing the hearts of many people ; nor fail to perceive 
that the Lord was still, according to his promise, always 
with his Church. 

Beda, the most learned and celebrated writer of the eighth 
8 



86 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

century, lived and died an humble recluse in the monastery 
of Yarrow in England. All his life was devoted to the attain- 
ment of various knowledge, diversified only by the monastic 
exercises of psalmody, prayer, and manual labour. His 
earlier years were applied to the acquisition of Latin, Greek, 
versification, astronomy, arithmetic, music, and other sci- 
ences, as well as to the study of holy Scripture, to which 
last he gave himself more entirely when he was ordained a. 
presbyter. His works, which consist of commentaries on 
Scripture, homilies, lives of saints, an admirable history of 
the Church of England from the earliest period, and other 
treatises, fill eight folio volumes. Bede was eminently dis- 
tinguished for piety, humility, and all the graces of the 
Christian character ; he was diligent as a preacher, as an in- 
structor of the ignorant, and as a spiritual adviser of those 
who sought his aid. Amongst his friends was a bishop named 
Egbert, to whom Bede addressed an excellent letter of ad- 
vice. "Before all things," he said, " avoid useless conversa- 
tions, and apply yourself to meditate on the holy Scriptures, 
especially the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, 
and also on the Pastoral of St. Gregory, and his homilies on 
the Gospel. As it is not fitting to employ the sacred vessels 
in profane uses, it is not less unbecoming that he who is 
consecrated to minister at the altar should, on leaving the 
church, discourse or act in a manner unbecoming his sta- 
tion." He urged the bishop to establish presbyters in every 
village to instruct and administer the sacraments, and that 
they ought to take especial care that all people knew by heart 
the Creed and Lord's Prayer ; and that those who did not 
understand Latin ought to repeat them in their own language, 
whether they were laity, clergy, or monks. Bede had al- 
ready translated them into English, for the use of many ig- 
norant clergy. He also exhorted the bishop to teach the 
benefits of frequent communion, as practised in Italy, France, 
Africa, Greece, and the East ; for even the most pious per- 
sons in England, as he says, only communicated at Christ- 



A.D. 680-1054. VENERABLE BEDE. 87 

mas, Epiphany, and Easter ; though there were infinite mul- 
titudes of people who could easily communicate on all Sundays 
and feast-days, as was the custom at Rome. 

Bede died in 735, aged sixty-three. About a fortnight be- 
fore Easter, he experienced a difficulty of breathing ; but 
he spent the remainder of his time, till Ascension-day, in joy 
and thanksgiving, instructing his disciples by day, and spend- 
ing much of his time, even at night, in singing psalms. He 
frequently repeated parts of Scripture appropriate to his 
state, some of which he had translated into English verse. 
He was still engaged in dictating to Cuthbert a translation of 
St. John's Gospel into English, and was thus employed on 
Ascension-day, when feeling his end approach, he sent hasti- 
ly for the presbyters of the monastery, and having presented 
to them some small memorials of his regard, he bespoke their 
religious assistance and prayers for him, and then, extended 
on the pavement of his cell, full of confidence and joy, and 
singing Gloria Patri, he departed to his eternal reward. 

Such virtues were not confined to the cloister in these 
ages ; they sometimes adorned the throne. Luitprand, king 
of the Lombards, in the early part of the eighth century, 
affords an example of this. He was pious, chaste, good, 
valiant, and wise, though he was ignorant of letters. He 
applied himself to prayer and almsgiving ; caused an oratory 
to be built in his palace, and established clergy to chaunt di- 
vine service for him every day : he built churches at every 
place where he resided. Carloman, prince of the Franks, 
was celebrated for his victories over the ^ 9 . 7 __ 

Germans, Bavarians, and Saxons. He for 
a long time protected and encouraged the missionary labours 
of St. Boniface, and showed many indications of a religious 
mind. At length, finding himself a widower, and being 
penitent for the severities he had formerly exercised on some 
of his rebellious subjects, he resolved to retire from the 
world, and to devote himself to the worship of God. He 
accordingly resigned his throne, and passed the remainder 



88 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

of his days in the monastery founded hy St. Benedict at Mount 
Casino, where he exercised every sort of self-denial, and, like 
the other brethren, undertook the humble offices of keeping 
the sheep, labouring in the garden, and even serving in the 
kitchen. 

Religion was deeply indebted to the Emperor Charle- 

>voa 01 a mamie. He devoted himself with the 2reat- 
a.d. 768-814. B . . & 

est zeal to its propagation amongst the hea- 
then nations subject to his dominion ; and endeavoured to 
correct the disorders into which the Churches of France and 
Germany had fallen. His last days, after the coronation of 
his son Louis, were occupied in correcting the text of the four 
Evangelists, in which he was assisted by Greeks and Sy- 
rians. Charlemagne had long shown a great zeal for re- 
ligion ; he never failed, while his health permitted, to attend 
divine service daily, morning and evening. He took great 
care that the service should be conducted with decorum and 
propriety; supplied his chapels with abundance of vestments 
and ornaments ; and being perfectly instructed in the best 
manner of reading and singing, he corrected the mode of 
performing both ; but he himself never read publicly in 
church, but contented himself with singing in a low tone and 
with others. His alms were not only liberally bestowed in 
his own dominions, but on all the poor and distressed Chris- 
tians in Syria, Egypt, Africa, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and 
Carthage ; and he cultivated the friendship of unbelieving 
princes, with a view to assuage the sufferings of the Christians 
under their dominion. He died a.d. 814. 

The Emperor Louis, his son, who died in 840, usually spent 
the whole time of Lent in singing psalms, prayer, attendance 
on divine service, distributing alms, and other works of piety ; 
so that he scarcely took more than a day or two to mount his 
horse for the purpose of exercise. 

But I must now turn to some of the eminent missionaries 
who adorned the Church in the eighth and ninth centuries. 

St. Boniface, or Winfrid, was a native of England., where 



k.D. 680-1054. BONIFACE. 89 

he embraced the monastic life at an early age, and was or- 
dained presbyter, by desire of his abbot, in 710 ; after which 
he devoted himself to the instruction of the people, and la- 
boured for the salvation of souls. When he was held in most 
high esteem in his own country, he resolved to forsake all 
the worldly prospects which were opening on him, and to de- 
vote himself to the conversion of the heathen. Accom- 
panied by some monks, he embarked, and passed over into 
Friesland and Hesse, where, after some time, he converted 
and baptised many thousands of the people, and founded a 
monastery. Whilst he was thus occupied, Boniface and his 
companions were frequently reduced to great difficulty, from 
the extreme poverty of the people. They were obliged to 
live by the labour of their own hands, and were exposed to 
continual danger from the inroads of the pagan Saxons. At 
length Boniface went to Rome, by desire of Pope Gregory 
II., who ordained him bishop for the mission among the hea- 
then east of the Rhine. Returning to the scene of his labours, 
he confirmed those whom he had baptised, and having boldly 
cut down a tree of immense size, called the oak of Jupiter, 
which was held in superstitious veneration by the people, he 
gained a large increase of converts. Boniface felt himself 
much impeded in the work of preaching the Gospel by the 
sinful lives and errors of the neighbouring bishops and cler- 
gy ; and consulted Gregory and other bishops, whether he 
ought to hold any communion with such men. He corres- 
ponded frequently with Daniel, bishop of Winchester, and re- 
ceived from him very judicious advice, as to the best method 
of arguing with the heathen. Boniface was a diligent student 

of the Scriptures. In a letter to his friend Daniel, ~~„ 

r ' a.d. 726. 

he says, " I pray you to send me the book of the 

prophets, which the abbot Winbert, formerly my master, 
left me when dying, in which six prophets are comprised in 
the same volume, written in very distinct letters. You can- 
not send me a greater consolation in my old age ; for I can- 
not find a book like it in this country ; and my sight being 

8* 



90 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XHI. 

feeble, I cannot easily distinguish small and contracted 
letters." 

The fame of St. Boniface now attracted a great number 
of religious men from England, who assisted him in his 
apostolic labours, and converted multitudes of people in 
Hesse and Thuringia, so that in 732 he was made archbishop 
(his see being fixed at Mayence,) and empowered to consti- 
tute bishops to assist him, which he accordingly did in Bava 
ria, and other parts of Germany. In 742 he held a council 
under the protection of Carloman, prince of the Franks, foi 
the reformation of the Church in the west of France, where 
there had been no metropolitan for eighty years, no councils 
had been held, and the sees had been filled either with lay- 
men, or with bishops altogether unworthy of the name. In 
this council it was resolved that the metropolitans should in 
future request the pall from the bishop of Rome. The views 
of St. Boniface, with regard to the duties of his station, ap- 
pear in a letter to Cuthbert, archbishop of Canterbury, writ- 
ten about this time, in which, after complaining of the dif- 
ficulties which beset him, he says, " Let us combat for the 
Lord ; for we are in days of affliction and anguish. Let us 
die, if it be the will of God, for the holy laws of our fathers, 
that with them we may arrive at an eternal inheritance. Let 
us not be dumb dogs, sentinels asleep, or hirelings who flee 
at the sight of the wolf ; let us be careful and vigilant shep- 
herds, preaching to great and small, to rich and poor, to every 
age and every condition, as God shall give us power, in sea- 
son and out of season." 

In 752 he crowned Pepin king of France ; and though 
now full of years, of honours, and of fame, he continued to 
act as a missionary to the end of his life. We find him in 754 
returning from Friesland, where he had been for a long time 
preaching to the heathen. In the following year, having or- 
dained Lullus to be his successor, and resigned his see to 
him, as he was about to depart to Friesland, he said to the 
new archbishop, "The time of my death draws near: com- 



A.D. 680-1054. BONIFACE. 91 

plete, my son, the building of the churches I have begun in 
Thuringia : apply thee earnestly to the conversion of the 
people : finish the church of Fulda, and bury me there. 
Prepare all that is necessary for my journey ; and place with 
my books a winding sheet to bury me." At these words, 
Lullus wept. St. Boniface then exhorted the abbess Lioba, 
his old friend, to remain still in that foreign country, and to 
observe her profession, looking for an eternal reward ; and 
he commanded that she should be buried in his tomb. He 
then departed by the Rhine to Friesland, where he converted 
and baptised thousands of the heathen, overthrew their tem- 
ples, and raised churches. He was assisted by the bishop 
of Utrecht, and many priests, deacons, and monks. He 
had fixed a day for the confirmation of his converts, and was 
encamped with his brethren on the banks of a river ; when 
on the day appointed, they were surrounded by a furious 
band of heathens. The attendants of St. Boniface went forth to 
oppose them by force ; but he called his clergy together, and 
said to his attendants, " My children, cease to combat ; the 
Scripture instructs us not to render evil for evil. The day 
which I have long expected is come ; put your hope in God, 
and he shall save your souls." He then exhorted his clergy 
and companions to prepare themselves courageously for mar- 
tyrdom, and soon after fell beneath the swords of the heathen, 
in the seventy-fifth year of his age. 

Gregory, a disciple of Boniface, governed the church 
newly founded at Utrecht, where he collected, with great 
trouble and expense, many volumes of the holy Scriptures ; 
and he also preached to the heathen in Friesland. Two of 
his brothers having been murdered by robbers, the murderers 
were arrested, and sent bound to him, to suffer death in 
whatever manner he should please ; for by the laws of that 
barbarous people, the nearest relative of a murdered person 
was invested with this power. Gregory ordered them to be 
washed, clothed, and fed ; then he said to them, " Go in 
peace ; never again commit such a deed, lest a worse thing 



92 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

happen to you ; and beware of the other relations of the de- 
ceased." Gregory was simple in his habits; pretended not 
to hear what was unkindly said of him ; and treated his ca- 
lumniators as if they were his best friends. Whenever he 
received any money, he immediately distributed it amongst 
the poor, keeping no valuables whatsoever, except the sacred 
vessels of the church. When this holy man felt his end ap- 
proaching, he caused himself to be carried into the church, 
and there, having made his prayer, and received the body 
and blood of our Saviour, he died — his last look fixed on the 
altar. 

Lebuin, an Anglo-Saxon, and a disciple of Gregory, 

/-nn ^An preached amono; the Saxons in Germany ; 

a.d. 690-740. * & . J ' 

and on one occasion, hearing that a great 

assembly of the nation was to take place, he presented him- 
self on the day appointed, arrayed in his vestments, with the 
Gospel and the cross in his hands. The assembly commenced 
by sacrificing to their false gods; in the midst of which, 
Lebuin began with a loud voice to preach the Gospel, .and 
exhorted the people to turn from those superstitions to the wor- 
ship of the true God ; for that otherwise, he predicted, they 
would suffer most grievous calamities, and be reduced to cap- 
tivity by a neighbouring prince. When the Saxons were 
about to deprive him of life for this boldness, one of them 
named Buto, who was generally respected, said, " Listen to 
me, ye that are wise : the ambassadors of the neighbouring 
people have often come to us, and we have received them 
peaceably, listened to their proposals, and sent them away 
with gifts. Here is an ambassador of the great God, who 
brings to you salutary promises from Him ; and you reject, and 
wish to slay him : ye ought to fear God's anger." This dis- 
course had such an efTect on the Saxons, that Lebuin departed 
in safety, and continued his missionary labours. 

There were several instances in these ages, of martyrdoms 
for the name of Christ. A remarkable example of this oc- 
curs in the history of the ninth century. The chief of the 



A.D. 680-1054. MARTYRS OF AMORIUM. 93 

Saracens ha vino; taken the town of Amorium in 000 

. . A.D. ooo. 

Asia Minor, sent the principal men and the mili- 
tary officers to Bagdad, where they underwent a long and 
rigorous imprisonment ; and when it was supposed that 
their patience was exhausted, every possible effort was made 
to induce them to change their religion. But in vain did the 
most learned Mahomedan doctors assail their faith with ar- 
guments, promises, and threats : all were alike fruitless. At 
the end of seven years of imprisonment, they were again 
offered liberty and life, on condition of joining in the Moslem 
worship. The renegade who made this offer exhorted them, 
to give an external submission, for that God would surely 
pardon them, on account of the necessity in which they were 
placed. This insidious advice was rejected. On the follow- 
ing day the Christians were brought forth from their prison ; 
and the caliph's officer, after inquiring their resolution, said, 
" You will not then pray with the caliph ? I know that there 
are some of you who desire to do so ; when the remainder shall 
see how these are honoured, they will deplore their own evil 
fate." The Christians replied with one voice, " We pray 
the only true God, that not only the caliph, but the whole 
nation of the Arabs, may renounce the errors of Mahomet, 
and adore Jesus Christ, who was announced by the prophets 
and the apostles. So far are we from renouncing light for 
darkness." " Beware," replied the officer, " of what ye 
say, lest ye repent it. Your disobedience will bring grievous 
torments upon you." They answered, " We commend our 
souls to God, and hope that, even to our last breath, he will 
give us strength not to renounce this faith." The officer said, 
" At the day of judgment ye shall be reproved for leaving 
your children orphans, and your wives widowed. The 
wealth of Egypt might enrich your descendants, even to the 
tenth generation." The Christians cried, " Anathema to 
Mahomet, and to all who acknowledge him as a prophet !" 
Then their hands were bound behind them, and they were 



94 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

brought to the banks of the river Tigris, where they were all 
executed, according to their rank. 

We have already seen, that the study of Scripture was 

frequent in these ages. Lupus, abbot* of Ferrieres, in the 

qoq am ninth century, writing to Godeschalch, a 

A.D. O^o-ODl. . -,.... 

man of a vain and inquisitive turn of mind, 
speaks thus : " I exhort you, my venerable brother, not to 
fatigue your mind with such questions, lest in occupying your- 
self too much therewith, you may be unable to examine or 
to teach what is more useful. Why inquire so much into 
that which it may be unfit for us to know ? Let us exercise 
ourselves in the vast field of the holy Scriptures ; apply our- 
selves entirely to study them, and unite prayer with study. 
It will be worthy of the goodness of God to manifest him- 
self to us in the manner most suitable to us, when we do not 
inquire into what is above us." The Council of Pavia in 
850, in giving instructions with regard to the life and con- 
duct of a bishop, said, " He shall meditate continually on 
holy Scripture, in order to instruct his clergy accurately, 
and to preach to the people according to their understand- 
ing." The instruction of the people was carried on chiefly 
by catechising and sermons, which were delivered in the 
W9Q language of each country. Jonas, bishop of Or- 
leans, in writing on the duties of the laity, re- 
commends to parents and godfathers the instruction of chil- 
dren, and complains that the ancient penitential discipline 
was much relaxed, and that most of the laity received the 
eucharist only three times a-year. Several bishops were 
very active in the discharge of their sacred duties. Thus it is 
said that Wolfgang, bishop of Ratisbon, who died in 994, 
preached often to his people, who came to hear him with 
great eagerness. His discourses were simple and intelligi- 
ble, but strong and touching. He penetrated to the depths 
of their hearts, and caused floods of tears to flow. When 
he visited the clergy of his diocese, he carefully instructed 



A.D. 680-1054. KING ALFRED. 95 

them in their duties, and particularly urged them to purity 
of life. 

St. Fidus, bishop of Meissen in Germany, who died in 
1015, afforded another example of zeal in the performance 
of his duties. Brought up in a religious community at 
Magdeburgh, he only accepted the episcopal office that he 
might win souls to God. His self-denial was very great: 
He was continually occupied for the remaining twenty-three 
years of his life in preaching, baptising, confirming, not 
only in his own, but in many other dioceses. The continual 
tears, which expressed his penitence and humility, are said 
to have weakened his sight. He often went with bare feet 
on his journeys ; and when provision failed him, or he found 
himself suffering some other difficulty or hardship, he re- 
turned thanks to God, and desired his companions to do the 
^ame. 

England produced many religious princes in these ages, 
the most conspicuous of whom was King ft79 Qm 

Alfred, whose undaunted courage in adver- 
sity, and wisdom in prosperity, justly gained for him the re- 
putation of being the greatest monarch of his age. The 
piety of his private life was truly remarkable. He divided 
his revenue into two equal parts, one of which he applied 
entirely to works of charity, in the proportions of one 
quarter to the poor generally ; another to two monasteries he 
had founded ; a third to the schools he had established ; and 
a fourth to the monasteries in general, not only in England, 
but abroad. His time was also divided into two equal parts, 
one of which was given to religion. He attended the cele- 
bration of the eucharist every day ; joined in divine service 
seven other times in the course of the day ; and even went 
to the church secretly at night to pray. He devoted time to 
reading and meditation, and always carried with him the 
Psalter and Prayer book, and a sheet of paper, on which he 
wrote every day the passages of Scripture which touched 
him the most ; then having collected these sheets, he made a 



9b ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CII. XIII. 

manual, which he used to read with singular pleasure. King 
Alfred found the education of the clergy and people reduced 
to the lowest ebb when he ascended the throne : this effect 
had been produced by the dreadful ravages of the Danes, 
and the almost total destruction of monasteries, which were 
at that time the only schools of learning. As soon as pub- 
lic tranquillity was restored, Alfred applied himself to the re- 
vival of literature and learning ; and for this purpose he sent 
for the most learned men who could be found in the neigh- 
bouring countries, and afforded every possible encourage- 
ment to the instruction of the clergy and people. At this 
period there was a celebrated school at Oxford, which seems 
to have existed for some time, and which was in after-ages 
known as the University of Oxford. Alfred brought Grim- 
bald and other doctors to Oxford ; but a division arose be- 
tween these new teachers and the ancient doctors, which the 
king had much difficulty in terminating. 

He was more than twelve years old before he learned to 
read, and had not leisure, for many years, to apply himself to 
study. When peace was restored, he devoted himself, with 
the aid of learned men, to translate such books into English as 
he judged would be most useful to the people : amongst others, 
the Psalms of David, St. Gregory's Pastoral and Dialogues, 
the histories of Orosius and Bede, and the Consolations of 
Boetius. In the preface to the Pastoral he says, that in his 
time but few of the English at this side of the Humber un- 
derstood their commonest prayers, or could translate any 
Latin writing into English. He did not recollect to have 
met any one south of the Thames who could do so when he be- 
gan to reign, though at the time he was writing there were 
many persons who were able to teach. " I remember," he 
says, " before these last ravages (of the Danes,) I have 
seen the churches of England full of ornaments and books ; 
but the clergy did not derive much benefit from them, be- 
cause they did not understand them ; and our ancestors did 
not translate them into the vernacular tongue, because they 



A.D. 680-1054. NILUS OF CALABRIA. 97 

did not imagine that we should ever fall into such ignorance." 
He therefore thought it very advisable to translate the most 
necessary books into English ; and that all the English youth, 
especially the free-born, should learn to read.* 

This excellent prince was grievously afflicted with bodily 
pains all his life ; but his piety never failed. He would par- 
don a heathen any crime that he might have committed, on 
condition of his becoming a Christian. All the leisure he 
had from war and business was devoted to study, and to in- 
quiring how he might do good to others, and improve him- 
self in virtue. He died in peace, a.d. 901. 

I now turn to an instance of piety in a very different 
sphere of life. St. Nilus was born in Calabria, of Greek 
parentage, in the tenth century. His natural abilities were 
carefully cultivated by study in his youth. He read holy 
Scripture continually, and delighted in the lives of the fa- 
thers : but when he was in the flower of his youth he fell in- 
to sins, from which he was after a time delivered by the grace 
of God operating on his conscience during his recovery from 
a violent fever. He then resolved to devote himself wholly to 
the worship and service of God, and to all the exercises of 
a religious life ; and with this mind he entered a monastery 
in Calabria, where he was joyfully received ; but wishing 
for more quiet than he found there, he retired to a cavern 
near at hand, where he spent his days between prayer, copy- 
ing psalters and other religious books, singing the psalms, 
and studying holy Scripture and the fathers. In the evening 
he left his cell to walk abroad and refresh himself, and medi- 
tate on some passages of the fathers, without ever forgetting 
God, whom he contemplated in all the works of creation. 
After sun-set he took his frugal meal, and in the night he slept 
but for a short time, and then recited the psalms till day-light. 
His fasts were frequent and long. 

One of the brethren, having obtained his permission to live 

* [See Sir Francis Palgrave's admirable little work on the history of the 
Anglo-Saxons. — Am. Ed.] 

9 



98 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIII. 

along with him, said to him, " My father, I have three pieces 
of silver ; what wilt thou that I should do with them ?" Ni- 
lus replied, " Give them to the poor, and keep only your psal- 
ter." He did so ; but some time after, being wearied of such 
a life, he sought to quarrel with Nilus, and demanded the 
money which he had given to the poor. " My brother," 
said the holy man, " write on a piece of paper that I shall 
receive the reward of it in heaven, and place it on the altar." 
Then he departed, borrowed the money, which he gave to 
the man, and in twelve days copied three psalters, with 
which he paid his debt. Nilus afterwards refused to be made 
abbot of the neighbouring convent. One of the principal in- 
habitants of that part of the country having resolved to live 
a religious life, and desiring to place himself under his di- 
rection, and imitate his mode of living, Nilus dissuaded him 
from it, saying, " My brother, it is not for our virtue that 
we live in this desert, but it is because we cannot bear the 
rule of common life, that we have separated ourselves from 
men, like lepers. You do well to seek your salvation. Go 
to some community where you will find repose of body and 
mind." As the Saracens were making many inroads into that 
country, Nilus departed to another place, where several dis- 
ciples joined him, and a monastery was formed. Some 
brethren in the neighbourhood spoke evil of him as a hypo- 
crite and impostor, but he returned it only by giving them bless- 
ings and praise ; and one day, when they had extremely mal- 
treated him, he came to them as they were eating, placed 
himself on his knees, and asked their pardon. By this con- 
duct he entirely subdued them, and gained their friendship. 
He would not allow any member of his community to possess 
any thing but what was barely necessary, saying that any 
thing more was avarice. When the society increased, he 
would never assume the title of abbot or hegumenus. One 
day, the metropolitan of Calabria, accompanied by several 
great men, magistrates, clergy, and a number of people, 
came to visit him out of curiosity. He caused one of them 



a.d. 680-1054. nilus. 99 

to read part of a book in which it was written, " that of ten 
thousand souls, scarcely one at the present time departs into 
the angePs hands." Many began to say, " God forbid : this 
is heresy. Where then is the use of baptism, adoring the 
cross of Christ, receiving the communion, and bearing the 
name of Christians ?" Nilus replied, " What if I show you 
that the fathers, St. Paul, and the Gospel, say the same thing ? 
God is under no obligation to you for what you speak of. 
You would not dare to profess any heresy : the people would 
stone you. But know ye, that if ye be not virtuous, yea, ex- 
ceedingly virtuous, ye shall not escape eternal punishment." 
Being asked of what tree Adam eat in Paradise, he said, " How 
should we speak of what Scripture has not revealed to us ? 
Instead of thinking how ye were created ; how ye were 
placed in Paradise ; of the commandments ye have received, 
and have not kept ; of what has driven you from Paradise, 
and how ye may enter it again ; instead of all this, ye in- 
quire the name of a tree !" Many great officers offered 
him large sums of money for the benefit of his community ; 
but he said to them, " My brethren will be happy, according 
to the psalm, if they live of the labour of their hands ; and 
the poor will cry against you for retaining their goods." 

When the archbishop of Rossano died, the magistrates 
and principal clergy came to seek for St. Nilus, to offer him 
the see ; but, having heard of their intentions, he retired in- 
to the recesses of the mountains, and could not be found ; so 
that they were obliged to elect another person to that see. 
The incursions of the Saracens at length became so fre- 
quent, that Nilus was obliged to take refuge at the monas- 
tery of Mount Casino, which St. Benedict had founded. On 
his way thither, he passed through Capua, and his fame was 
so great, that he was offered the bishopric of that city. Ni- 
lus lived near Mount Casino for fifteen years with his com- 
munity. In 997, when very aged, he went to Rome to be- 
seech the emperor and the pope to have mercy on the anti- 
pope Philagathus, whom he had known formerly. The em- 



100 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIV. 

peror and Pope Gregory, having heard of his arrival, went 
to meet him, and each taking him by a hand, led him to the 
patriarchal palace, and seated him between them, each kiss- 
ing his hand. The old man groaned at receiving these 
honours ; yet he endured them, in the hope of obtaining 
what he desired. He then said to them, "Spare me, for the 
sake of God. I am the greatest sinner of all men ; an old 
man, half dead, and unworthy of these honours : it is rather 
my part to prostrate myself before you, and to honour your 
supreme dignities." 

Finding at length that his community at Valdeluce had 
become seriously relaxed in discipline by the wealth, num- 
bers, and renown, which his sanctity had given to it, he de- 
parted and went to a place near Gaeta. " The monks of 
these times," he said, "do not employ their leisure in prayer, 
meditation, and reading of Scripture, but in vain discourse, 
evil thoughts, and useless curiosity. These and many other 
evils are removed by labour, which distracts the attention 
from them ; and there is nothing equal to eating our bread 
in the sweat of our countenance." 

The princess of Gaeta came to visit him, out of reverence 
for his piety, and he discoursed to her on purity, almsgiving, 
and the fear of God. It was always unpleasant to him to 
meet the great : he avoided it carefully, as a source of vani- 
ty and danger, and had no intercourse with them even by 
letter, except to assist them in their necessities and their 
misfortunes. Nilus died soon after, in 1002, aged ninety-five. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



on the abuses and superstitions of this period. 

a.d. 680-1054. 

The ignorance caused by the disorganised condition of 
society during these ages could not fail to produce many ir- 



A.D. 680-1054. MONASTIC ABUSES. 101 

regularities, abuses and superstitions. 1 have already allud- 
ed to the mischiefs resulting from the use of images, which 
were of the most afflicting character. The invocation of 
saints was also frequent, though we do not find that direct 
prayers were, as yet, addressed to them, or their aid sought, 
except with a desire for their prayers to God. The litanies 
of the western Churches began to include such invocations ; 
but they did not find their way into the usual services of the 
Church. We have seen, in the last chapter, the lamentable 
want of information on religion which existed in some coun- 
tries, where the Scriptures and the offices of religion were 
unintelligible even to the clergy. It was a mistaken rever- 
ence for antiquity which led Augustine and Boniface to em- 
ploy the ancient Latin liturgies in the Churches which they 
founded amongst the heathen. They had not calculated 
that the knowledge of that language would be so limited, or 
that the people would be so badly instructed. Succeeding 
generations wanted ability or courage to correct a mistake 
sanctioned by such respectable authority. Still some means 
of instruction existed, though these were not universally 
found. Such were the sermons of the bishops and presby- 
ters ; the exhortations of the monks ; the discipline of pen- 
ance, which still continued, though much impaired ; the sys- 
tem of catechising the young ; and the instruction which was 
conveyed by parents and godfathers, who were also reminded 
of their duties. And if, as we have reason to believe, a 
large portion of the community were accustomed to receive 
the holy eucharist three times a year, we may trust that the 
state of religion was in those ages not so bad as it has been 
sometimes represented ; and the present age, with all its ad- 
vantages of civilization, peace, and education, would per- 
haps scarcely be able to prove its greater attention to known 
duties, or its more conscientious obedience to the impulse d 
of conscience. As time advanced, indeed, we see the words 
of our Lord verified. The tares began to grow thickly in 
the field of the Church, and the wheat was oppressed by their 

9* 



102 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIV. 

multitude. The pure gold of the early times, tried seven 
times in the fire, was now mingled with the alloy of this 
earth ; and the human heart betrayed daily its tendency to 
fall away from the service of its Creator. The very chosen 
resorts of religious zeal and self-denying piety exemplified 
most lamentably this tendency to decay. The way of life 
in which an Antony and a Benedict had shown such eminent 
virtues was now filled with lukewarm professors. The sim- 
ple piety, the poverty, and the industry of St. Benedict's 
rule, gradually gave way before the influence of too ample 
endowments. . Abuses of all kinds arose. The cupidity of 
barbarians was attracted by the wealth of monasteries and 
the splendour of their ornaments. Powerful barons usurped 
their territories or intruded into their precincts, spreading 
disorder and licentiousness amongst those former seats 
of religion and learning. When Odo, about 920, was de- 
sirous to devote himself to the monastic life, he went him- 
self or sent messengers to all the celebrated monasteries of 
France ; but he could not find a single house in which sufrl- 
cent regularity and order were observed. He then founded 
the monastery and order of Clugny, in which the strictness 
of ancient discipline was revived. Indeed, the observance 
of St. Benedict's rule had, even in the preceding century, 
become so much relaxed, that Benedict of Anianum was 
employed to reform a number of monasteries in France and 
Italy. 

The vast possessions which were bestowed on the Church 
by the sovereigns of the West, and which were held by feu- 
dal tenure, obliged bishops and abbots to attend the courts of 
princes, to absent themselves from their dioceses, and 
to mingle in scenes of war and civil commotion, which 
were little consistent with their sacred characters. Hence 
too arose that mutual interference of Church and State, of 
which these ages furnished several examples. Princes seiz- 
ed on the temporalities of churches, kept them vacant 
to enjoy their revenues, or insisted on the appointment of 



A.D. 680-1054. FORGED CREDENTIALS. 103 

bishops who were altogether unworthy. On the other hand, 

the bishops began to assume temporal authority.* The 

council of Toledo deposed Wamba, king of the 6 q, 

Visigoths, because, as they pretended, he had 

taken the monastic habit. The emperor Louis 000 

, xTT, . , i J -, . a.d. 833. 

le Debonnaire was deposed, and restored again 

by councils of bishops. When the patriarchs of Rome had 
obtained from Pepin, Charlemagne, and their successors, con- 
siderable grants of territory in Italy, those powerful prelates 
assumed a still loftier tone of authority, and began to inter- 
fere in the disputes and other affairs of princes. Thus Ad- 
rian II. forbade the emperor Charles the Bald to possess 
himself of the dominions of king Lothaire, under pain of 
excommunication, but in this he was resisted by the bishops 
of France ; and when Gregory IV., about 830, had taken part 
with Lothaire against his father the emperor Louis, and 
threatened to excommunicate the latter, the bishops of 
France informed that prelate, that if he came to excommu- 
nicate the emperor, he should return home excommunicated 
himself. 

Another evil in these times was the facility with which ex- 
communications were denounced. A sentence, which ought 
only to be passed on those who have been guilty of most se- 
rious offences against God or their brethren, was used on 
many trifling and unworthy occasions ; and hence we need 
not wonder at the complaints frequently made in those times, 
that excommunication was disregarded. 

The power of the Roman see in the western Church was 
greatly augmented in the ninth century, by the fabrication 
of a large body of decretal epistles or ecclesiastical laws 3 
which purported to have been written by the popes during the 

* [It was clearly through these usurpations of the bishops that the unho- 
ly tyranny of Rome grew into being. The episcopal claims were gradual- 
ly concentered in the one apostolical see of the West ; and all the power 
that the weakness and wickedness of temporal princes had thrown into 
the hands of the spiritual rulers, was thus drawn to a single focus. — 
Am Ed.] 



104 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XV , 

first three centuries, and in which the judgment of all bish- 
ops, the holding of all councils, and a right to hear appeals 
from all ecclesiastical judgments, were claimed for the Ro- 
man pontiffs. These epistles, which had been forged in the 
preceding century, and which are now acknowledged by the 
most learned Romanists to be mere fabrications, exagge- 
rated to the highest degree the powers and privileges of the 
popes , and the ignorance of the ninth century prevented any 
discovery of their falsehood. The bishops of Rome assert- 

^.•j, . u T ed their genuineness, and carried their principles 
Nicholas I. & . ' r / 

a.d. 862. into P rac tice ; though the bishops, especially 
those of France, offered much opposition. Thus 
the liberties of Churches were gradually invaded, while 
their discipline was injured by the obstacles thrown in the 
way of assembling synods and condemning offenders, and 
by the facility of appeals to a foreign and too favourable 
tribunal. 



CHAPTER XV. 



ON THE DIVISIONS OF THE EASTERN AND WESTERN CHURCHES. 

a.d. 680-1054. 

During the period now before us the rival Churches of 
Rome and Constantinople had several disputes. When the 
controversy about images broke out in the eighth century, 
a d 726 732 Gregory II. and Gregory III. of Rome, 
excommunicated the emperors of the East, 
and forbade the pdyment of tribute to them, in consequence 
of their opposition to images. The emperors in return con- 
fiscated the possessions of the Roman see in their dominions, 
and withdrawing the various Churches of Illyricum, Mace- 
donia, Greece, as well as those of Sicily, Apulia, and Cala- 
bria, from the jurisdiction of Rome, subjected them to the 



A.D. 680-1054. DIVISIONS OF THE CHURCHES. 105 

see of Constantinople. The three former provinces had been 
under the see of Rome for about 350 years ; the latter for 
a much longer time : however, the eastern Church offered 
no objection to this arrangement, nor was communion inter- 
rupted between the East and West on this account, though 
the bishops of Rome made frequent efforts to obtain a resto- 
ration of their authority. Their requests were fruitless, as 
long as they Were addressed to the eastern emperors or 
Churches ; but when the Normans subdued Sicily and Na- 
ples, in the eleventh century, those provinces, after an inter- 
val of three centuries, again became subject 10QO 
to the Roman jurisdiction. During the disputes 
on image-worship, the Roman see was for some time sepa- 
rated from the communion of the Church of Constantinople ; 
but it does not appear that the western Church generally re- 
garded either party as heretical, or refused communion with 
them. 

In the ninth century a dispute arose between the bishops 
of Rome and Constantinople about the province of Bulgaria, 
which each claimed. This was heightened by the contro- 
versy in the case of Photius, who had been made patriarch of 
Constantinople when Ignatius, the last patriarch, was expelled 
from his see by the emperor, and deposed by a fifi1 

synod of 318 bishops, by whom Photius was ac- 
knowledged patriarch. The Roman see took part with Igna- 
tius, and deposed Photius, who retaliated by deposing the 
bishop of Rome : but after a time he was expelled, and Ig- 
natius restored by another emperor. The majority of the 
eastern Church, however, adhered to Photius ; and on the 
death of his rival Ignatius, he was again placed in his see 
by a synod of 383 bishops, with the approbation g~ 9 

of pope John VIII. The latter consented to his 
restoration, on condition that Bulgaria should be transferred 
to the Roman jurisdiction ; but this transfer was opposed by 
Photius and his successors ; and though he became, in con- 
sequence, very obnoxious to the popes, who withdrew their 



106 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVI. 

communion from him, the communion of the universal 
Church was not seriously affected, and the two rival Churches 
afterwards remained in communion till 1054. 

In this year, however, a division began between the 
eastern and western Churches, which has never yet been en- 
tirely healed. For when Cerularius, bishop of Constantino- 
ple, wrote to the bishop of Trani, in Italy, condemning 
several of the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church, 
and shut up the Latin churches and monasteries at Constan- 
tinople, the legate of the Roman see, Cardinal Humbert, 
insisted on his implicit submission to the pope ; and, on his 
refusal, left an excommunication on the altar of his patriar- 
chal church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. And as the 
eastern Churches adhered to Cerularius, and the western to 
the Roman see, they gradually became estranged from each 
other, though for many ages some communion still existed 
between them. 

I have thus endeavoured to trace briefly the principal fea- 
tures in ecclesiastical history from the beginning to the divi- 
sion of the eastern and western Churches, and to show that 
in every age the Church of God still existed, notwithstanding 
all the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh. 
It will next be my endeavour to carry on the same plan from 
the division of the East and West to the Reformation. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



on the progress of christianity, 
a.d. 1054-1517. 

The period under consideration is chiefly remarkable as 
exhibiting the progress of the division between the eastern 
and western Churches, and the rise and increase of the pro- 
digious spiritual and temporal power of the popes. It was 
the unreasonable claims of this power which separated the 



A.D. 1054-1517. PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 107 

eastern from the western Church, and which still continues 
to be the great obstacle to their re-union. The spirit of 
worldliness, of craft, cruelty, and avarice, which so often 
disgraced professing Christians, and even ministers of Christ, 
in these ages, was but too faithfully copied from the example 
of the pretended heads of the universal Church; while the 
ancient laws and liberties of churches, the rights of kings, 
and the sound discipline of the Church, were without scruple 
invaded and subverted by these imperious pontiffs. But we 
should remember that the visible Church was now becoming 
co-extensive with the world, and therefore that " it was im- 
possible but that offences should come." The good seed 
was now mingled thickly with tares, and the love of many 
waxed faint : but still there was a remnant left ; still the 
Church, however afflicted, might point to new evangelists 
and saints, and behold the verification of our Saviour's 
promises. 

The great work of evangelising the heathen was continu- 
ally proceeding, and the zeal and piety of the early mission- 
aries were occasionally revived. In 1124, Boleslaus, duke 
of Poland, having subjugated the duchy of Pomerania, and 
wishing to- introduce Christianity into that country, invited 
St. Otto, bishop of Bamberg, to preach the Gospel there, 
informing him that the people had consented to be baptised, 
and that he should be aided and assisted in every way by the 
sovereign power. St. Otto, having learned that the Pome- 
ranians were wealthy and despised poverty, went into that 
country with a considerable train, and with every thing that 
could convince the natives that he came not to derive any 
pecuniary advantage, but solely to win their souls. At the 
town of Pirits, where they first proceeded, about four thou- 
sand men were assembled from all parts to keep the feast of 
one of their idols. The principal inhabitants of the place 
were informed by one of the duke's officers of the approach 
of the bishop, and of the commands of their sovereign, that he 
should be received and heard with respect. The officer ad 



108 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVI. 

ded, " that this prelate was a great and wealthy man in his 
own country ; that he sought none of their goods, but only 
their salvation ; that they ought to remember their promise to 
become Christians, and the sufferings they had experienced in 
war, and not to provoke again the anger of God." After some 
demur, the pagans, finding that St. Otto was close at hand, 
agreed to hear him ; and the bishop then came with all his 
company and encamped outside the town, where the barbari- 
ans ran in great numbers to behold and assist them. St. Otto 
then ascended an elevated place, adorned with all his epis- 
copal vestments, and by means of an interpreter addressed 
the people, who were very eager to hear him. 

" May ye be blessed of God," he said, " for the good recep- 
tion you have given to us. You already know, perhaps, the 
cause which has brought us so far. It is your salvation and 
your happiness ; for you will be happy for ever, if you will 
acknowledge your Creator and serve him." While he thus 
simply exhorted the people, they all declared that they would 
receive his instructions. He spent seven days in instructing 
them carefully, with the assistance of his priests and clergy. 
Then he ordered them to fast three days, to bathe themselves, 
and clothe themselves with white garments, to be ready for 
baptism. He then prepared three baptisteries, for the men, 
women, and children, respectively. These baptisteries 
were great wooden vessels sunk in the earth and filled with 
water. They were surrounded by curtains, and at the part 
of each where the priest stood, was another curtain. When 
any one was to be baptised, he came accompanied by his 
godfather, to whom, on entering the baptistery, he gave his 
garment, and who held it before his face until the ceremony 
was concluded. The priest, as soon as he observed any one 
in the water, drew aside the curtain a little, and baptised 
him, immersing his head three times in the water. He then 
anointed him with chrism, gave him a white garment, and 
dismissed him. The godfather received him, covered him 



A.D. 1054-1517. PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 109 

with his garment, and led him away. In winter, baptism 
was administered with warm water, in places well heated. 

Otto and his companions remained three weeks at Pirits, 
instructing the converts in the duties of religion, the observ- 
ance of Sundays and holy days ; exhorting them to attend 
the celebration of the eucharist, and to communicate at least 
three or four times in the year. He explained to them the 
sacraments, desired that their children should be brought for 
baptism at Easter and Whitsuntide, exhorted them to give 
some of their children to be educated as clergy, and left them 
a priest to administer the sacraments, whom these people, to 
the number of seven thousand, received with the greatest 
joy and devotion. 

In the next town he remained six weeks, and baptised so 
great a multitude, that his alb was often wet with perspira- 
tion even to the waist. At another town he was less fortu- 
nate. The pagans fell with fury on him and his attendants. 
St. Otto was with difficulty saved, after having received many 
blows and fallen in the mud. At Stetten, the people de- 
clared at first that they were satisfied with their old religion, 
and refused to become Christians ; but they afterwards gave 
hopes that if the duke would remit certain taxes, they might 
be induced to adopt Christianity. While the negotiation was 
going on, the bishop and priests, arrayed in their vestments, 
and bearing a cross, preached twice a week in the market- 
place, that is, on market-days. The novelty attracted many 
hearers, and several were converted. On the return of their 
messengers with a favourable answer from the duke, the in- 
habitants resolved to receive the Gospel. Otto exhorted them 
to destroy their idols ; but as they feared to do so, he him- 
self led the way with his clergy, and struck the idols down, 
when the people, seeing that their gods could not avenge 
themselves, completed the work of destruction. Thus he 
went throughout Pomerania, converting multitudes of the 
people, and at length returned to Bamberg, after a year's 
absence. In a few years he again visited Pomerania, many 

10 



110 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVI. 

of the people having relapsed into paganism ; but as he 
approached Stettin, the clergy who accompanied him, dread- 
ing the barbarity of the people, remonstrated with him, and 
endeavoured to dissuade him from his journey. He said 
to them, " I would fain exhort you to martyrdom, but I shall 
not constrain any one. If you will not aid me, at least do 
not hinder me ; but leave to me the same liberty which I do to 
you." Thus saying, he shut himself up in his chamber, and 
remained in prayer till the evening. But in the night he 
placed on his shoulders a bag containing his vestments and 
the vessels of the altar, and privately left the place, taking 
the road to Stettin, and chanting the nocturnal service as he 
went. Early in the morning, the clergy found him, after an 
anxious search, as he was entering a boat ; and casting them- 
selves at his feet, with many tears, promised that they would 
follow him even to death. St. Otto succeeded in recovering 
the people from their apostacy, and after many labours and 
dangers returned at last to Bamberg. 

In 1168, the natives of the Isle of Rugen, in the Baltic, 
were converted to Christianity ; the capital of that island 
having been surrendered to Waldemar, king of Denmark, 
on condition that the idol Suantovit, and all his treasure, 
should be delivered to the king, and that the people should 
embrace the Christian religion. Suantovit, whom these bar- 
barians regarded as their principal deity, was originally the 
martyr St. Vitus. The monks of Corby, in Saxony, had 
formerly introduced Christianity into this island, and they 
had dwelt so much on the merits and miracles of this saint 
(whose relics were preserved at Corby,) that the people, 
after their departure, fell into most dreadful idolatry, for- 
got the true God, and placed the martyr St. Vitus, whom 
they called Suantovit, in his stead, and made an idol of the 
saint with four heads, to which the people offered human sa- 
crifices; and the idol priest had greater wealth and authority 
than the king. Such are the dangers which arise from the 
excessive honours paid to saints and images. The idol was 



A.D. 1054-1517. PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. Ill 

dragged into the Danish camp, where it was split to pieces, 
and the wood was employed in the camp kitchens. The 
idol temple was burnt, churches were built, and the people 
converted and baptised by the bishops of Roskild and Meck- 
lenberg, who accompanied the king of Denmark. 

The Sclavonians who inhabited the borders of the Baltic 
sea were, in a great measure, converted by the pious and judi- 
cious zeal of Vicelin, bishop of Oldenberg. -i i o* 1 1^ 

tt i i n i • ^.n i A.D. 1124-1154. 

He devoted thirty years of his life to the 

glorious work of an evangelist among the northern nations, 

and few names in these ages deserve more reverence. 

About the same time, the Armenians, who had been for a 
long time involved in the Eutychian heresy, condemned by 
the fourth oecumenical synod, were re-united for a time to the 
communion of the patriarch of Constantinople. In the fol- 
lowing century they also received for a short time the do- 
minion of the bishop of Rome. 

The conversion of the Maronites, a small nation of Mount 
Lebanon, in Syria, took place about 1182. They had been 
involved in the Monothelite heresy since the seventh century ; 
but now, finding themselves surrounded by the various prin- 
cipalities established by the Latins in the time of the cru- 
sades, they embraced the faith, discipline, and obedience of 
the pope. About this time, the Gospel was introduced into 
Livonia, a country on the Baltic, by Meinard, n ftfi 

canon of Sigeburg, who made several voyages 
there with the merchants, and gained many converts. Finding 
his work prosperous, he applied to the archbishop of Bremen 
for additional authority, and was ordained bishop, when he 
fixed his see at Riga, and converted great numbers of the 
heathen. Berno, bishop of Suerin, who died in 1195, had 
also baptised many of the Sclavonians, abolished their idols, 
and cut down their groves. 

In 1210, some Cistertian monks preached the Gospel in 
Prussia ; and some years afterwards, the pagans of that 
country having most dreadfully persecuted the Christian 



112 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVI. 

converts, they were subdued by Crusaders, and by the 
powerful order of Teutonic knights, and gradually convert- 
ed to Christianity. In this century also, the Mohammedans 
were deprived of their dominion in the greater part of Spain, 
and Christianity was re-established in that country. They 
had already been despoiled of Sicily by the Normans. In 
1230, the king and people of Courland, on the Baltic sea, 
made a treaty with the Roman legate in Germany, by which 
they undertook to receive the Gospel. The Franciscan and 
Dominican friars, in the latter part of this century, preached 
in Tartary with considerable success. They were sent by 
12Q2 Nicholas IV. with letters to the emperor of 
Tartary, and to the Nestorians ; and they suc- 
ceeded in erecting several Christian churches in China, which 
was then under the dominion of the Tartars. One of these 
pious missionaries, named John a Monte Corvino, translated 
the Psalms and the New Testament into the Tartar lan- 
guage. In 1307, 1311, and 1338, Clement V. and Bene- 
dict XII. sent several bishops into Tartary and China ; but 
after that period their missions seem to have fallen into de- 
cay. The last country in Europe which received the Chris- 
tian religion was Lithuania. Jagello, duke of Lithuania, was 
still a pagan, when, on the death of Louis, king of Poland, 
he was named amongst the candidates for the vacant throne ; 
but his infidelity was an invincible obstacle to the attainment 
of his wishes. It is to be hoped that his conversion was sin- 
cere, as he persuaded all his subjects to embrace Christianity, 
at the same time that he himself did, in 1386. 

The conquests of the Portuguese in Africa and India led 
to the spread of Christianity in those countries. The sove- 
reigns of that nation felt themselves bound to use all their 
influence for the propagation of the Gospel in their do- 
minions ; and the first result was the conversion of the king 
and people of Congo in Africa, in 1491. The subsequent 
settlement of the Portuguese in India was distinguished by 
similar blessings. The conquest of South America and of the 



A.D. 1054-1517. FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 113 

West Indies, by the Spaniards, was also made the means of 
disseminating the Christian faith through those wide regions, 
though we cannot but deplore the cruelties which were prac- 
tised in the subjugation of the unfortunate inhabitants of those 
countries. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ON THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

a.d. 1054-1517. 

The belief of the eastern and western branches of the 
universal Church remained the same in all articles of faith, 
during the period now before us, as it had been before the 
division. The Nicene creed was universally received as 
the rule of faith. The six holy oecumenical synods were 
still regarded with the greatest veneration ; but the decrees 
of the Nicene synod in favour of images, which pretended 
to be the seventh oecumenical synod, were only approved by 
the eastern and by a portion of the western Churches. The 
principal point of doctrinal difference between the East and 
West, was the procession of the Holy Spirit ; for the former 
asserted, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only, 
while the latter believed that He also proceeds from the Son. 
However, as the former allowed that the Holy Ghost pro- 
ceeds from the Father by the Son, the difference did not seem 
irreconcilable. The doctrine of purgatory, which was held 
by the popes, and a large party in the West, as an article of 
faith, was another point of dissension between them and the 
Greek Church, by which this doctrine was constantly denied. 
With the exception of these points, there was no difference 
in matters of faith between the East and West. The 
doctrines of the Trinity, incarnation, divinity of our Lord, 
the atonement, original sin, and the need of divine grace ; 

10* 



114 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XTII. 

the obligation of good works, of repentance, prayer, fasting, 
alms-giving, charity, and all other Christian acts and habits, 
were universally maintained. The faith of the western 
Church is shown by its condemnation of various heretics, 
such as Peter de Bruis and Arnold of Brescia, who, in the 
twelfth century, denied infant baptism, and destroyed 
churches. The Albigenses, who held Manichaean heresies, 
were condemned in several councils, especially the great 
Lateran synod, in 1216, which, in opposition to their errors, 
made a definition of faith in the Triune God, the only Prin- 
ciple and Author of all things ; the authority of the Old Tes- 
tament ; our Lord's^ incarnation, suffering, bodily ascension 
into heaven ; the resurrection of the body at the last day ; 
the importance of the eucharist, and the real presence of 
Christ's body and blood ; the necessity of baptism, and law- 
fulness of marriage. The Manichseans denied all this : and the 
decree furnishes a clear proof that the western Church always 
maintained its ancient faith. During the period now under con- 
sideration, all the most eminent and learned theologians of the 
western Church continued to believe that man cannot merit 
salvation by his own works, but that he must place his whole 
trust and confidence in the mercy of God, and the atone- 
ment, merits, and intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
It has been shown by a learned writer (Archbishop Usher, 1 ) 
that this truly Christian doctrine was included amongst the 
instructions and consolations which were prescribed for the 
use of persons ready to depart from this life. Amongst 
other questions which were to be put to the sick man, were 
the following : " Dost thou believe to come to glory, not by 
thine own merits, but by the virtue and merit of the passion 
of our Lord Jesus Christ?" and, "Dost thou believe that 
our Lord Jesus Christ did die for our salvation, and that 
none can be saved by his own merits, or by any other means 
but by the merit of his passion?" In other copies of the 
same office for visiting the sick, the last question is this : 
1 Usher, Answer to a Jesuit, ch. xii. 



A.D. 1054-1517. FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 115 

" Dost thou believe that thou canst not be saved but by the 
death of Christ V And when the sick person has replied in 
the affirmative, he is exhorted in these words: "Come, 
therefore, while thy soul remaineth in thee, place thy whole 
confidence in this death alone ; have confidence in no other 
thing ; commit thyself wholly to this death ; with this alone 
cover thyself wholly ; mingle thyself entirely in it, fasten 
thyself in it, wrap thyself wholly in it. And if the Lord 
will judge thee, say, Lord, I oppose the death of our Lord 
Jesus Christ betwixt me and thy judgment ; no otherwise do 
I contend with thee. And if he say unto thee, that thou art 
a sinner, say, Lord, I put the death of the Lord Jesus Christ 
betwixt thee and my sins. If he say unto thee, that thou 
hast deserved damnation, say, Lord, I set the death of our 
Lord Jesus Christ betwixt me and my bad merits ; and I of- 
fer his merit instead of the merit which I ought to have, but 
yet have not. If he say, that he is angry with thee, say, 
Lord, I interpose the death of our Lord Jesus Christ betwixt 
me and thine anger." 

Such was the belief and such the practice of the Latin 
Churches, in ages when great corruptions had undoubtedly 
become prevalent ; and surely it is impossible to trace such 
sentiments, without a feeling of gratitude to that God, who, 
in spite of so many scandals, so much ignorance, and such 
heavy sins, still continued to fulfil his gracious promises, and 
to preserve always in his Church those vital truths, which 
constitute the only solid foundation for a Christian's hope of 
salvation. It would be easy to trace the same doctrine in 
the writings of St. Bernard, St. Anselm, Petrus Blesensis, 
and many of the most eminent scholastic writers of the 
middle ages. But at length ignorant and wicked men main- 
tained that our " good works are properly meritorious, and 
the very cause of salvation ; so far that God would be unjust, 
if he rendered not heaven for the same." These arrogant 
sentiments were held by some of the Romish controversialists 



116 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVII. 

in the sixteenth century ; but they had been for some time 
before slowly working their way in the Church. 

The Roman pontiffs regarded their own supremacy over 
the whole Church, by divine right, as a prime article of 
faith ; and their adherents, the monks, friars, and school- 
men, maintained it so vigorously, that in this period it came to 
be regarded generally in the western Church as a matter of 
faith, or at least as a settled and indisputable point. On this 
basis the fabric of the papal power was raised to a gigantic 
height. As for the eastern Churches, they rejected and de* 
nied this novel doctrine, which was never declared to be an 
article of faith by any general synod; for the synod of 
, rt ~„ Lyons, in which this doctrine was advanced by 

A.D. 1274. , , n , ~ 

the ambassadors of the Greek emperor, to 
gratify the pope, and by some Greek bishops who acted un- 
l d^Q ^ er intiraidation ; and the synod of Florence, 
in which it was forced on those Greek bishops 
who were present, were rejected by the eastern Church. 
The latter synod, indeed, was of doubtful authority, even in 
the West, as it consisted only of Italian bishops, while the 
rival synod of Basle was sitting at the same time. The doc- 
trine, however, became deeply rooted throughout the western 
or Latin Churches. 

The synod of Florence, just referred to, was the first 
synod which taught the doctrine of purgatory as an article of 
faith. It had, indeed, been held by the popes, and by many 
writers ; and it became the popular doctrine during the period 
under review ; but it was not decreed by any authority of the 
universal, or even the whole Latin Church. In the eastern 
Church it was always rejected. 

Nearly the same may be said of transubstantiation ; for 
though the popular persuasion, and that of the majority of 
the schoolmen, was, that after consecration the bread of the 
eucharist no longer exists, there were several learned men 
during these ages who held different notions, such as Du- 
rand, and many others mentioned by Cardinal D'Ailly. 



A.D. 1054-1517. FRUITS OF FAITH. 117 

The council of Lateran, indeed, had made use of *«-.« 

. • ,, , A - D - 1215. 

the word u transubstantiation, to express the 

change by which the bread and wine become the sacrament 
of Christ's body and blood ; but this word might be, and in 
fact was, used in many senses inconsistent with the Romish 
interpretation of it ; and the object of the synod itself seems 
to have been merely to establish the old doctrine of the pre- 
sence and reception of Christ's body and blood in the sacra- 
ment, in opposition to the Manichsean errors. The eastern 
Church in these ages knew nothing of transubstantiation. 
Such in general was the condition of the Christian faith up to 
the beginning of the Reformation. No article of faith was 
denied by the Church generally; the erroneous doctrines 
which existed were held by a greater or less number of indi- 
viduals, but without any solemn decree or determination of 
the universal Church. Errors not directly contrary to the 
articles of faith may occasionally exist in the Church, be- 
cause they do not destroy its faith. Even the Roman Catho- 
lic theologian Bossuet says, that the majority of writers in 
any age may suppose some doctrine to be a matter of faith 
which is not really so ; and other Roman theologians allow, 
that the opinion most commonly held at any time in the 
Church may not be true. The promises of our Saviour to his 
Church only extend to the preservation of the articles of the 
faith, all of which were revealed by himself and the apos- 
tles, and are written in Holy Scripture. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

ON THE FRUITS OF FAITH. 

a.d. 1054-1517. 



I have already adverted to the pious labours of evan 
gelists and missionaries during these ages : it now remains 
to speak of some of the most eminent saints who adorned 



118 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIII. 

the Church ; and I shall commence with some account of 
St. Anselm. He was born in Piedmont, of noble parents, 
about a.d. 1033, and was brought up by his pious mother in 
the ways of godliness. When he was about fifteen years of 
age he wished to enter the monastic state, but was refused 
by the abbot to whom he applied, for fear of his parents' 
displeasure. During the course of his studies after this time, 
he neglected to cultivate the spirit of religion in his heart ; 
and having lost his zeal for piety, and becoming insensible 
to the fatal tendency of vanity and worldly pleasures, he be- 
gan to walk in the broad way of worldliness. Anselm in his 
writings expresses the deepest sorrow and contrition for these 
disorders of his early life, which he never ceased most bit- 
terly to deplore to the end of his days. 

After several years of diligent study in France and Bur- 
gundy, he was attracted by the great celebrity of Lanfranc, 
prior of Bee in Normandy, and afterwards archbishop of 
Canterbury, to place himself under his tuition. After some 
years, Anselm reverted to his early design, embraced the 
monastic state, and became successor to Lanfranc 's office 
and celebrity. He applied himself most earnestly to every 
part of theology by the clear light of Scripture and tradition, 
and acquired great fame by his theological writings, his 
skill in metaphysics, and his ability in teaching, which at- 
tracted multitudes of disciples from all the adjoining king- 
doms to the monastery of Bee. In 1078 he was elected ab- 
bot of Bee ; and as that house possessed lands in England, 
he was occasionally obliged to visit this country, where he 
was held in the highest esteem by William the Conqueror, by 
Lanfranc, now archbishop of Canterbury, and by many great 
nobles in the kingdom. 

•jqqq On the death of Lanfranc, the possessions 

of his see, like those of several others, were 
seized by king William Rufus, who kept many of the Eng- 
lish bishoprics vacant for years, and applied their revenues 
to his own use. At length, having fallen into a dangerous 



A.D. 1054-1517. ANSELM. 119 

illness, and apprehending that his end was near, he was 
touched with compunction for his ill-spent life, and endea- 
voured to make amends for his sins, by issuing proclamations 
for the release of prisoners, the discharge of debts due to 
him, and a general pardon ; and at the same time , ^qn 

he nominated Anselm, who happened to be at 
the court, to the metropolitan see of Canterbury, which, not- 
withstanding the strongest opposition on his part, Anselm was 
obliged at last to accept and he was soon after consecrated 
with great solemnity. 

It may be here observed, that the pope had not yet ac- 
quired the power of appointing to bishoprics in England. 
Anselm was elected and consecrated archbishop of Canter- 
bury without any papal bulls. It was after this that the pope 
sent him the pall, which constituted him vicar of the Roman 
see. 

Anselm was soon exposed to the enmity of the wicked 
prince who had, in a moment of transitory remorse, advanced 
him to the highest office in the Church of England. His re- 
fusal to pay the king an immense sum, which was demanded 
for his nomination to the archbishopric ; and his persevering 
solicitations for the removal of gross corruptions in ecclesi- 
astical patronage, and for permission to hold synods with a 
view to enforce the discipline of the Church, excited the 
wrath of the tyrant, who resorted to every possible expedient 
in the hopes of depriving him of his bishopric. At length, 
unwilling to witness grievous oppressions of religion, which 
he *was unable to prevent, Anselm retired to France, and 
thence to Rome, where he earnestly wished to resign his 
see, but was prevented by pope Urban II., who enjoined him 
to retain his office, and to maintain the cause of the Church. 
He was received with great honours in all parts of Italy, 

and assisted at the council of Bari, where a con- 1And 

i i i . • t i A ' D * 1098. 

ference took place between the oriental and the 

Latin Churches, and where Anselm was commissioned to 

argue against the doctrine of the Greeks on the procession 



120 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIII. 

of the Holy Spirit. After the death of William Rufus, he 
returned to England, and was received with much friendship 
by king Henry I. ; but this harmony was ere long interrupted 
by demands of homage and investiture on the part of the king, 
which Anselm, in accordance with certain principles lately 
laid down by a synod at Rome, thought it his duty to refuse. 
Notwithstanding this, he opposed himself with all his power 
to an attempt made by Robert duke of Normandy to obtain 
the crown of England ; and Henry I. was much indebted to 
him for retaining possession of his throne. After many 
other troubles, this venerable man died peaceably at Canter- 
bury in 1109. 

St. Anselm had a most lively faith in all the great truths 
of the Christian religion. His hope of heavenly things gave 
him a great contempt for the vanities of the world ; and he 
might truly say, that he was dead to the world and to all its 
desires. By the habitual restraints he imposed on his appe- 
tite, he seemed to have attained perfect indifference to the 
nourishment which he took. His fortitude was such, that 
neither fear nor favour could ever induce him to swerve from 
the way of justice and of truth. He seemed to live not for 
himself, but for others. Amidst all his troubles and public 
distractions, prayer was his great and continual resource. 
He often retired in the day to his devotions, and not unfre- 
quently continued the whole night in prayer. An anecdote 
has been preserved, which shows how continually his mind 
was engaged on the great and awful realities of religion. 
One day as he was riding, at one of his manors, a hare, 
pursued by the hounds, ran under his horse for refuge ; on 
which he stopped, and the hounds stood at bay. The hunters 
began to laugh at this circumstance ; but Anselm said, 
weeping, " This hare reminds me of a poor sinner just upon 
the point of departing this life, surrounded by devils waiting 
to carry away their prey." The hare going off, he forbade 
her to be pursued, and was obeyed. In this manner, every 
circumstance served to raise his mind to God ; and, in the 



A.D. 1054-1517. BERNARD. 121 

midst of noise and tumult he enjoyed all that tranquillity and 
peace which naturally arose from the continual contempla- 
tion of his God and Saviour, and which elevated him above 
the cares and anxieties of this life. 

St. Bernard was born in France in 1091, the third of 
six brothers, and was remarkable in his childhood for dili- 
gence in his studies, and for the purity of his morals. When 
he had attained his twenty-second year, finding himself sur- 
rounded by the temptations of the world, he resolved to fol- 
low the example of Antony, and to seek a retreat in the 
newly-founded monastery of Citeaux ; and he persuaded his 
five brothers, bis uncle, and many other persons of wealth 
and merit, to unite with him. Accompanied by thirty disci- 
ples, he was admitted at Citeaux, where he sought to hide 
himself from the world ; and so entirely was he absorbed in 
the contemplation of heavenly things, that all the ordinary 
affairs and objects of fife ceased to excite his attention or 
curiosity. His watchings and fastings brought on an infirm- 
ity of body, which never left him. In accordance with the 
rule of St. Benedict, which was here strictly observed, he 
laboured diligently with his hands, while at the same time he 
was inwardly occupied in the worship of God. He prayed 
and meditated on Scripture, and afterwards said that it was 
chiefly in the woods and fields that he had learned the spiritual 
meaning of holy writ. In the intervals of labour, he was 
always engaged in prayer, reading, or meditation. He studied 
Scripture by simply reading it regularly through many times ; 
and said that there was nothing which enabled him to under- 
stand it better than its own words, and that all its truths had 
more force in the text than in the discourses of commentators. 
He, however, read, with humility, the expositions of the 
fathers, and followed in their footsteps. 

After St. Bernard had been a year at Citeaux, he was sent, 
by the abbot, to take charge of the new monastery at Clair- 
vaux. The society began in extreme poverty. They were 
often obliged to make their pottage of leaves, and mingle 

11 



122 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIII. 

their bread with millet and vetches. Assistance, however, 
came to them often when it was least expected. St. Bernard 
proposed to his disciples in this place a piety so pure and ele- 
vated, that it seemed beyond them ; but his exalted senti- 
ments, and the strictness of his discipline, gradually pro- 
duced a revival of the ascetic life in all its purity. On ap- 
proaching Clairvaux a different scene presented itself from 
that afforded by other monasteries, which were magnificent- 
ly built and adorned, and exhibited every sign of opulence. 
The buildings here were plain and poor. The valley was 
filled with men, each silently engaged in his appointed task ; 
and nothing interrupted the silence, but the sound of labour, 
or the praise of God when the monks chanted their offices. 
They lived on the poorest fare, and denied themselves all 
earthly pleasures and enjoyments. 

The fame of St. Bernard soon spread far and wide, and 
men began to resort to him ; but wherever he was, or with 
whomsoever conversing, he could not refrain from preach- 
ing and speaking of the blessed truths of religion, and of his 
God and Saviour. His zeal, th'3 extent of his learning, the 
acuteness of his intellect, his dauntless courage, and a piety 
which shed the splendour of sanctity over all his great en- 
dowments, soon distinguished him as a man who was calcu- 
lated for a wider sphere than the limits of his 'cloister afford- 
ed; and for the last thirty years of his life (he died in 1153,) 
St. Bernard was consulted by popes, emperors, kings, and 
bishops. He was engaged in most affairs of importance ; 
was called to many councils ; subdued several heretics in 
controversy ; was commissioned to preach the crusade to the 
assembled sovereign and nobles of France ; influenced the 

, .. nrk Christian world in favour of pope Innocent, 
a.d. 1130. , , . • , i . -i 

whose election he supported against a rival ; 

lived to see one of his own monks placed on the papal throne ; 
and at his death left a hundred and sixty monasteries, who 
regarded him as their founder or their governor. 

At Cremona, in Italy, about this time, lived a man named 



A.D. 1054-1517. RICHARD. 123 

Homobonus, who was a merchant, and remarkable for hon- 
esty in all his dealings. He was married : but finding him- 
self more free to follow his wishes after the death of his fa- 
ther, he resolved to labour no more for the wealth of this 
world, but to give himself up to prayer, watchfulness, fast- 
ing, and other religious duties. He distributed to the poor 
what he had gained in traffic, and performed every office of 
charity both to their souls and bodies. His wife reproached 
him with his want of care for the things of this life ; but he 
calmly reminded her, that what is given to God is never lost. 
He often went at night to pray in the church ; and one 
morning early, while the service was proceeding, he pros- 
trated himself on the ground, his hands extended in the form 
of a cross, and a-fter a time he was found to be dead. He 
died in 1197. 

Some of the most learned and pious of the schoolmen 
flourished in the thirteenth century. Amongst these may be 
named Peter Lombard, Alexander de Hales, Bonaven- 
ttjra, Aquinas, and Scotus. These were men of very ar- 
dent piety ; but some of them were deeply tinged with super- 
stition. The founder of the order of Franciscan friars was also 

endued with a zealous spirit of religion. St. 11onl nnn 

-n .1 n ! . ,. ■", i A - D - H82-1226. 

t rancis, amidst much enthusiasm, displayed 

a spirit of devotion and piety, a contempt for all earthly 
things, and a simplicity of purpose in the endeavour to win 
souls to God, which reflect honour on his memory. But it 
is to be lamented, that the spirit of credulity, if not of impos- 
ture, has been so largely at work in attributing to him a mass 
of fabulous miracles, some of which have excited derision in 
later times, as they did even in the thirteenth century. 

Richard, ordained bishop of Chichester in 1245, affords 
an example of piety and charity. After his consecration, 
king Henry III. withheld the revenues of his see ; so that 
he was obliged to depend on the charity of those of the peo- 
ple of his diocese who were willing to minister to his neces- 
sities ; but he, nevertheless, made visitations, and adminis- 



124 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIII. 

tered the sacraments, as he saw need. At length, after en- 
during the deprivation of his lands with patience, they were 
restored to him by the king, but in a miserable state, and 
plundered of every thing. He, however, began to distribute 
abundant alms ; and when his brother, who managed his af- 
fairs, represented that his revenue was insufficient, he re- 
plied : " Is it right that we should eat off gold and silver, 
while Jesus Christ suffers hunger in the persons of his poor ? 
I know how to content myself with earthen vessels, as my 
father did. Let every thing be sold, even to my horse, if 
there be need." He was fervent in prayer, in fasting, and 
all good works. 

He never gave benefices to his relatives ; he resisted, with 
invincible firmness, the king and the archbishop of Canter- 
bury, who wanted him to prefer an unworthy curate in his 
diocese. He preached assiduously, even out of his diocese ; 
consoled and encouraged those penitents who came to con- 
sult him as their spiritual adviser ; and died, in 1253, as he 
was engaged in the active and diligent discharge of his sa- 
cred duties. 

Robert Grosteste, bishop of Lincoln, who flourished at 
the same time, was remarkable for sanctity of life, and purity 
and severity of discipline. He opposed himself, with re- 
markable firmness, to the exactions and pretensions of the 
popes. On one occasion, when he had received a mandate 
from the pope to appoint an improper person to a benefice in 
his diocese, he wrote in reply, that the mandate he had re- 
ceived could not be genuine, as it pretended to the power of 
subverting all the canons, and as it prescribed a positive sin, 
in requiring the introduction of a false pastor into the 
Church. The pope was very much irritated, and threatened 
to have him punished by the king of England ; but the car- 
dinals represented that this prelate's reputation stood so high 
in France and England, that no remedy could be hoped for. 
Grosteste complained of the pretension of the popes to dis- 
pense with all the canons and constitutions of the Church at 






A.D. 1054-1517. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI. 125 

pleasure ; of their ordering the Dominican and Franciscan 
friars to persuade the dying to leave their goods to the cru- 
sade, and to take the cross themselves, in order to defraud 
their heirs of their goods, and to enrich the papal coffers ; 
of their measuring indulgences in proportion to the money 
given for the crusade ; of their ordering bishops to institute 
to benefices persons who were foreigners, ignorant, or ab- 
sent ; of their permitting persons to be bishops* without or- 
dination, in order that they might enjoy the revenues of the 
Church ; and of the general avarice, extortion, and impurity, 
which reigned in the court of Rome. Grosteste is said to 
have performed miracles ; but, though adorned with many 
virtues, his resistance to the Church of Rome prevented his 
ever being numbered amongst the saints of that calendar. 
The most eminent theologians in the following centuries 

were Ockham, an English ecclesiastic, _ took 

& about A.D. 1325. 

who refuted the doctrine of the infalli- 
bility of the pope ; Nicholas de Lyra, who wrote a com- 
mentary on Scripture, which was much 1 2 qo -i ooq 
valued by the Reformers ; Gerson ; and 
Peter D'Ailly, who, in the fifteenth century, argued against 
the papal pretensions, and ably defended the rights of the 
Church. Gerson was a man of eminent -io*o -i ac*<\ 

A.D. Io0e3-1429. 

piety, and wrote many devotional trea- 
tises. The celebrated book " Of the Imitation of Christ," 
which was written in the fifteenth century by Thomas a Kem- 
pis, a canon in Germany, is a sufficient proof that Chris- 
tian faith and devotion of the highest order were still existing 
in the Church. 

There cannot be a stronger exemplification of this con- 
solatory truth than in the life of Laurence Justiniani, bishop 
and patriarch of Venice. 

This venerable man, whose excellent piety and abundant 

* [That is, to hold the sees; the spiritual functions were performed, if 
attended to at all, by vicars, consecrated bishops inpartibus infidelium, as 
Romish coadjutor-bishops now are. — Am. Ed.] 

11* 



126 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIII. 

good works were worthy of the brightest ages of the Church, 
was born in Venice in 1389, of a noble and ancient family ; 
and at nineteen years of age devoted himself to the monastic 
life in his native place, where he was remarkable for prayer, 
fasting, and vigils, and for the fervour and zeal of his piety. 
He was endued with a remarkable spirit of Christian forti- 
tude ; and being afflicted with an illness which rendered a 
surgical operation indispensable, he said to his surgeons, who 
trembled at the danger to which his life was exposed, " What 
do you fear ? Let the razors and the burning irons be 
brought in. Cannot He grant me constancy, who not only 
supported but even preserved from the flames the three chil- 
dren ?" On another similar occasion he said to a sur- 
geon, " Your razor cannot exceed the burning irons of the 
martyrs." 

While he resided in the monastery, he was remarkable 
for his humility : he willingly undertook the lowest and most 
menial offices in his community, and evinced a spirit of 
poverty and self-denial which the most eminent ascetics might 
have applauded. After some time, he was ordained priest, 
and became general, or superior of his order, which he re- 
formed and regulated with so much strictness, that he was 
afterwards regarded as its second founder. The saying of 
our Lord, that " out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh," was verified in this holy man. All his conversa- 
tion was replete with a spirit of piety, which melted the 
hearts of those with whom he discoursed. His confidence in 
the infinite power and goodness of God kept pace with a per- 
fect humility and distrust of himself; and assiduous prayer 
was his continual support. 

In 1433 he was made bishop of Venice, which was after- 
wards, in honour to his transcendent merits, made a patri- 
archal see by the pope. He endeavoured ineffectually to 
decline this appointment ; and being exceedingly averse to 
pomp and ostentation, he took possession of his church so 



A.D. 1054-1517. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI. 127 

privately that his friends knew nothing of the matter till the 
ceremony was over. 

When he was placed at the head of so great a church, his 
manners and habits of life experienced no alteration. His 
household was placed on the most moderate scale ; it consist- 
ed only of five persons. He had no plate in his house, but 
used only earthen ware, lay on a straw bed, and wore no 
rich clothing. His example, his severity towards himself, 
and his affability and kindness to others, won the hearts of 
all, and enabled him to introduce most important reforms in 
discipline. Great multitudes of people resorted every day 
to his palace for advice, comfort, or alms. His gate, provi- 
sions, and purse, were always open to the poor. His alms 
were carefully and judiciously distributed; provisions and 
clothing were more frequently given to applicants than 
money. With a feeling of the most considerate sympathy, 
he employed pious matrons to find out and relieve those poor 
whose modesty prevented them from soliciting alms, and to 
assist persons of family in decayed circumstances. These 
abundant charities were but the result of a spirit of divine 
love, which influenced all his conduct. Nothing could ex- 
ceed his zeal for the glory of God ; and he was rewarded by 
the gift of wisdom, which enabled him to pacify most violent 
dissensions in the state, and to govern his diocese in most dif- 
ficult times with perfect ease. 

In his last illness, his servants were preparing a bed for 
him, at which this self-denying man was troubled, and said 
to them, " Are you laying a feather-bed for me ? No, that 
shall not be ; my Lord was stretched on a hard and pain- 
ful tree. Do not you remember what St. Martin said in his 
agony, that a Christian ought to die on sack-cloth and 
ashes ?" He forbade his friends to weep for him ; and as 
his strength failed, often exclaimed, with rapture, " Behold 
the Bridegroom; let us go forth and meet him." He added, 
with his eyes raised towards heaven, " Good Jesus, behold, I 
come." When it was remarked to him, that he might go 



128 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XVIH. 

joyfully to his crown, he was much disturbed, and said, 
" The crown is for valiant soldiers, not for base cowards 
such as I am." During the two last days of his life, all the 
city came in turn, according to their ranks, to receive his 
blessing. He commanded even the beggars to be admitted ; 
and addressed to every class some short pathetic instructions ; 
after which he departed in peace, in the year 1455. Such 
examples suffice to show, that even when the Church was 
most in need of reformation, the grace of God still continued 
to produce saving faith, and to sanctify his people. 

That serious corruptions in practice, and even in doctrine, 
had now become common among Christians, is indeed but too 
evident. Learned and godly men were longing for a refor- 
mation of the many evils by which religion was afflicted: 
but amidst much of human infirmity and sin, we still cannot 
avoid recognizing the continued fulfilment of the promises 
of God to his Church. The following expressions of Luther 
on this subject are well worthy of attention. "In this 
Church/' he says, " God miraculously and powerfully pre- 
served baptism ; moreover, in the public pulpits, and the 
Lord's day sermons, he preserved the text of the Gospel in 
the language of every nation, besides remission of sins, and 
absolution as well in confession as in public. Again, the sa- 
crament of the altar, which at Easter, and twice or three 
times in the year, they offered to Christians, although they 
administered only one kind (i. e. the bread.) Again, calling 
and ordination to parishes, and the ministry of the word, the 
keys to bind and loose, and to comfort in the agony of death. 
For amongst many it was customary to show the image of 
Christ crucified to those who were dying, and admonish them 
of his death and blood. Then, by a Divine miracle, there 
remained in the Church the Psalter, the Lord's Prayer, the 
Creed, the Ten Commandments. Likewise many pious and 
excellent hymns, which were left to posterity by truly Chris- 
tian and spiritual men, though oppressed with tyranny. 
Wherever were these truly sacred relics — the relics of holy 



A.D. 1054-1517. EASTERN CHURCH. 129 

men — there was and is the true holy Church of Christ, for 
all these are ordinances and fruits of Christ ; except the 
forcible removal of one part of the sacrament from Chris- 
tians. In this Church of Christ, therefore, the Spirit of 
Christ was certainly present, and preserved true knowledge 
and true faith in his elect. " 



CHAPTER XIX. 

on the eastern church, 
a.d. 1054-1517. 



The eastern or Greek Church existed under the Greek em- 
perors, in the country now called Turkey in Europe and 
Asia Minor, and also in Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Moravia, 
Sclavonia, Georgia, Mingrelia, Circassia, Syria, Palestine, 
and Egypt. It was governed by the patriarchs of Constan- 
tinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. After the 

division between the Churches of Rome and Con- inc. 

™ i A - D - 1054 « 

stantmople, the eastern and western Churches 

did not immediately withdraw from mutual communion. In 
1155, Basil, archbishop of Thessalonica, in an epistle to 
Adrian IV., allowed that the Latin Churches held the ortho- 
dox faith, and formed part of the universal Church, while he 
denied that the Greek Church was guilty of schism : and in 
1203, Demetrius, archbishop of Bulgaria, denied that the 
Latins were heretics. On the other hand, Peter, abbot of 
Clugny, and William of Tyre, in the twelfth century, ad- 
mitted the Greeks to form part of the Catholic Church ; and 
several modes of intercourse existed between the Churches. 
The popes, however, being full of the notion of their own 
supremacy over the whole Church, always treated the Greeks 
as schismatics ; and though they entered into many negotia- 
tions with the Greek emperors, for the re-union of East and 



130 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XIX. 

West, the first article always insisted on was, that the Greek 
Church should obey the pope. Had the popes merely desired 
to restore the communion of the Churches, leaving the 
Greeks their ancient independence and equality, there would 
have been no difficulty ; but they refused, and rightly re- 
fused, to place their religion, their discipline, their property 
and persons, at the feet of pontiffs who pretended to infal- 
libility, and who refused to be bound by any laws or canons.* 
The views of the eastern Church on this subject are ex- 
emplified by the words of Nechites, archbishop of Nicome- 
.. 1 ~~ dia, in his conference with a Latin bishop : " We 
do not refuse the Roman Church," he said, " the 
first rank among her sisters the patriarchal Churches, and we 
acknowledge that she presides in a general council ; but she 
separated from us by her pride, when, exceeding her power, 
she divided the empire and the Churches of the East and 
West. When she holds a council of western bishops with- 
out us, it is well that they should observe their own decrees ; 
but how can we be expected to obey decrees made without 
our knowledge ? If the pope pretends to send us his orders, 
fulminating from his lofty throne, and to dispose of us and 
our churches at his own discretion, without advising with us, 
what paternity or what fraternity is there in that ? We should 
be only slaves, not children of the Church. The Roman 
Church alone would enjoy liberty, and give laws to all others, 
without being subject to any herself. We do not find in any 
creed, that we are bound to confess the Roman Church in 
particular, but one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. 
This is what I say of the Roman Church, which I revere with 
you ; but I do not with you believe it a duty to follow her 
necessarily in all things, nor that we ought to relinquish our 

* [It ought not to be overlooked, how the providence of God thus made 
the Roman attempts at usurpation provide an insuperable bar to the subse- 
quent claim of catholicity for Romish corruptions in doctrine and practice. 
The latter might have become universal, but for the jealous hostility 
awakened by the former. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 1054-1517. EASTERN CHURCH. 181 

rites, and adopt her mode of performing the sacraments, with- 
out examining it by reason and the Scriptures." 

The crusades which the popes set on foot for the recovery 
of the Holy Land, but which led to the subjugation of Con- 
stantinople, Cyprus, and a great part of the Greek empire, 
by Latin chieftains, tended much to promote unfriendly 
feelings between the Churches. Latin bishops were institut- 
ed in Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Greece, Cyprus, 
although there were already Greek bishops in those sees ; 
and the Crusaders in many places profaned the Greek 
Churches, expelled their clergy, or forced them, on pain of 
death, to become obedient to Rome. The Greeks retaliated 
when they were able ; and the Churches became much more 
estranged from each other. 

In the year 1261, the Greek emperor Michael Paleologus 
recovered Constantinople from the Latins ; and fearing that 
the pope would proclaim a crusade against him, he entered 
into negociations for the union of the Churches, and com- 
pelled some of the Greek bishops to write to the pope and 
the council of Lyons, admitting the primacy of 197,1 

the Roman see, and expressing their wish for 
union. A letter from the emperor was also read in the 
council, in which he professed his belief in the Roman pri- 
macy, in purgatory, transubstantiation, and seven sacra- 
ments, as the pope had commanded. The council then per- 
mitted the re-union of the Greek Church to the Latin, and 
did not require any alteration in their form of worship. But 
in 1280 the pope again excommunicated the Greeks for not 
obeying his commands, and the temporary union came to an 
end. When Constantinople was threatened by the Turks, in 
the fifteenth century, the Greek emperor John Paleologus, 
desirous of obtaining the pope's assistance for his falling em- 
pire, came with several Greek bishops to the synod of 
Florence, where, after much disputation, those 
prelates were compelled to subscribe to the doc- 
trine of purgatory, the papal primacy, and the procession of 



132 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. IX. 

the Holy Spirit as held by the Roman Church : but on their 
return to Greece, they were condemned by the eastern 
Church, and the proposed union fell to the ground. Constan- 
tinople was taken by the Turks in 1453 ; and the Christians 
of those countries have been ever since much oppressed by 
these infidels : but the popes discovered that the attempt 
to reduce the Greek Church beneath their sway was a hope- 
less one. 



CHAPTER XX. 

abuses and corruptions, 
a.d. 1054-1517. 

The grand and crying evil of these ages was the position 
of the Roman pontiffs, who were now exalted in the western 
Church to such a height of power, and invested by them- 
selves and their adherents with such extravagant privileges, 
that the temporal as well as spiritual governments through- 
out Europe were every where agitated and enslaved, and the 
rights of sovereigns, the liberties of Churches, the holiest 
discipline of antiquity, were ruthlessly invaded and subverted. 
The spirit of the world discovered itself in the proceedings 
of the court of Rome ; and ambition, cupidity, and pride, 
were but too frequently the characteristics of the Roman pon- 
tiffs. These evils were the result of false maxims. The 
flatterers of the popes had, for several ages before those now 
under consideration, attributed too extensive powers to them. 
It had become a settled notion in the western Churches, that 
the bishops of Rome were the successors of St. Peter in the 
primacy of the Church by divine appointment. The spurious 
decretals, already alluded to, represented them as, even from 
the time of the apostles, claiming and exercising an extend- 
ed jurisdiction over all Churches. Hence it followed neces- 



A.D. 1054-1517. PAPAL POWER. 133 

sarily that it was the duty of every Church and every Chris- 
tian to be in communion with, and to be subject to, the 
pope ; and therefore that those who were out of his commu- 
nion, or disobedient to him, were not Christian. This was, 
in fact, to invest the Roman pontiff with absolute power in 
temporal as well as spiritual matters ; for if, as it was main- 
tained, it was absolutely necessary for every Christian to be 
in his communion, the only thing requisite to obtain obe- 
dience, whether from kings or bishops, was to threaten or 
inflict excommunication upon them. Sooner or later this 
formidable sentence was pretty sure to weigh upon the con- 
sciences of those who were disobedient to the papal com- 
mands, or on those of their adherents ; so that these prelates 
had little to do except to wait for the issue of events, and al- 
ways, in fine, to receive the most humble apologies and 
entreaties for pardon, together with the whole, or at least- 
some part, of their demands, however unreasonable or ex- 
travagant. 

The papal power was first developed in all its extent by 
the celebrated Hildebrand, or Gregory VII., who ascended 
the throne in 1073.* He was a man of undaunted courage 
and energy, and deeply embued with notions of the extent 
of the papal supremacy. He accordingly excommunicated 
and deposed the Emperor Henry IV. of Germany, for dis- 
obedience to his mandates, and compelled him 1 «~- 
at last to sue for absolution with the greatest 
humility. On further symptoms of disobedience, he again 
deposed and excommunicated him, gave his dominions to 
another prince, and excited a rebellion against him. He 
claimed, and in many instances succeeded in obtaining, the 
acknowledgment of his feudal superiority, or temporal juris- 
diction, over France, England, Hungary, Denmark, Poland, 
Russia, Norway, Dalmatia, Italy, "Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, 

* [He had prepared the way for his own undertakings, by the virtual ex- 
ercise of the papal power under his immediate predecessors, from a.d. 1049, 
—Am. Ed.] 

12 



134 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

&c. France and England for the present resisted these 
-19-19 c tai ms successfully; but in the reign of Pope 
Innocent III., John, king of England, was oblig- 
ed to declare himself a subject of the Roman see, and to 
pay tribute to it. As for the affairs of the Church in every 
country, Gregory disposed of them as if the whole world were 
his diocese, and the bishops were merely his assistants or 
deputies. This, indeed, was a notion which in the following 
centuries was boldly avowed and acted on by the popes. 
Legates, or papal viceroys, were continually going from 
Rome into all countries, and enforcing the new mandates or 
exactions of their masters, to the infinite trouble, expense, 
and annoyance of kings, prelates, and people ; but it was in 
vain that they protested, petitioned, complained, and threat- 
ened, or offered resistance. Their own notions of the papal 
authority were a chain round their necks, which never failed 
to bring them ultimately into subjection. 

The history of Europe, from this period, for two or three 
centuries, is little more than a history of the popes ; of their 
contests with emperors and kings ; their deposal of some 
monarchs, their creation of others ; of armies which they 
commanded to be fitted out for the recovery of the Holy 
Land, for the extermination of heretics, for the subjugation 
of heathen, or for the dethronement of their own enemies ; 
of the taxes which they levied from all churches and states, 
either for the crusades, for their own wars with princes, or 
for their pleasure ; of the controversies and wars which their 
disputed elections excited. All this was done on principle 
There were good men among the popes and among theis 
adherents ; but the false maxims, to which I have before ad 
verted, were so deeply engrained in their minds, that it \va? 
a matter of conscience with them to act as they did. The 
history of these ages is alone sufficient to show that there 
were some great mistakes abroad with regard to the papal 
authority ; it occupies far too large a space in the transac- 
tions of the period before us. Even St. Bernard was obliged 



*.D. 1054-1517. PAPAL POWER. 135 

to expend a great portion of his energy, zeal, and piety, for 
many years, in maintaining the disputed election of a pope. 
The world and the Church were disturbed with controversies 
of this kind, to the neglect of the practical duties and elevat- 
ed contemplations of true religion. 

No part of the Church smarted more severely under the 
papal tyranny (for such it became) than the Church of Eng- 
land. Let us dwell a moment on some particulars of its his- 
tory in the thirteenth century. In 1240, Cardinal Otho, one 
of those legates with whom the popes were continually troub- 
ling the Churches, published at London a mandate, in which 
permission was given to all persons who had taken the cross 
(i. e. vowed to fight for the recovery of the Holy Land,) to 
obtain absolution from their vow, on condition of paying to 
the pope the sum which they would have expended in their 
journey. This was a frequent practice of the popes by which 
they much injured these expeditions. The money went into 
their coffers, with the understanding that it was to be applied 
to the use of the Crusaders actually engaged in Palestine ; 
but it was frequently diverted to other purposes. The cler- 
gy of England shortly after assembled at Reading, when 
Cardinal Otho represented that the pope was sorely pressed 
for money, in his dispute with the Emperor Frederick, and de- 
manded instantly a fifth part of their revenues. The bishops 
objected, but at length paid the exaction. Some time after, 
a mandate came from the pope to the archbishop of Canter- 
bury, the bishops of Lincoln and Salisbury, to appoint three 
hundred Roman subjects to the next vacant benefices, on pain 
of being suspended from conferring all benefices! 

In 1244 the pope sent an emissary into England, with a let- 
ter to the abbots of the diocese of Canterbury, stating that 
the sums drawn by the late pope from England and other 
states had been insufficient to discharge his debts contracted 
for the defence of his patrimony and the liberties of the 
Church. He therefore ordered them to aid him with the 
sums of money which his agent should mention within a given 



136 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

time. The nuncio was supplied with many bulls, in order to 
bestow the best benefices, or their revenues, on the pope's 
relatives. The pope soon after wrote to the clergy of Eng- 
land, commanding them to give liberally to the king. In 
1245 the ambassadors of the king of England, in the coun- 
cil of Lyons, read a letter, addressed by the kingdom of Eng- 
land to the pope, complaining that his predecessors, wishing 
to enrich the Italians, who had become excessively numerous, 
had given them such a multitude of benefices in England, 
that their income amounted to 60,000 marks of silver, a 
greater revenue than the king possessed ; that these Italians, 
indifferent to the souls intrusted to them, and only desirous 
of the revenues of their benefices, lived abroad ; that the 
nuncio had recently conferred all vacant benefices worth 
thirty marks on Italians, and provided that on their death, 
others should succeed, to the destruction of the rights of 
patrons. Many other abuses were mentioned ; but the pope, 
having heard the letter, would make no reply further than 
that an affair of so much consequence deserved full con- 
sideration. In the following year another vigorous attempt 
was made. It was resolved by the parliament of England 
that an embassy should carry to the pope jive letters, from the 
bishops, the abbots, the lords and commons, and the king, 
respectfully demanding redress, and threatening, in case of 
not obtaining it, no longer to obey the Church of Rome. 
While these letters were on their way, the pope, having 
learned that many rich English ecclesiastics died intestate, 
decreed that the possessions of all who should hereafter die 
intestate should revert to himself; and commissioned the 
Franciscan and Dominican friars to see to the execution of 
this mandate. The pope was enraged when he heard of the 
opposition offered to his exactions, and resolved to place 
England under an interdict; but he was appeased by the am- 
bassadors, who assured him that the king would speedily 
yield what he desired. The next year he sent over a man- 
date that all the resident clergy of England should pay one- 



A.D. 1054-1517. PAPAL POWER. 137 

third of their revenue, and the non-resident one-half, to the 
see of Rome. The clergy, however, were prevented from 
paying this exaction by the king. In 1252 we find that the 
king had obtained from the pope a tenth of the incomes of the 
clergy and people of England for three years, under pretence 
of a crusade. In 1255 a papal nuncio came to levy a tenth 
in England, Scotland, and Ireland, for the pope or the king. 
The nuncio then preached a crusade against Mainfroy, king 
of Sicily, an enemy of the pope, and demanded immense 
sums from the English bishops for this object. 

The proceedings of these few years will afford a sufficient 
specimen of the servitude to which the prevalence of false 
maxims had reduced the Church. Some princes resisted 
such claims more effectually than others ; but they were con- 
tinually liable to recur ; and the papal power was always 
encroaching and usurping the rights of the Church and 
State. 

During the period now under consideration, the evil of ap- 
peals to the popes came to its height. No cause could oc- 
cur in spiritual matters which might not be carried by appeal 
directly before the tribunal at Rome, to the delay of justice, 
the impoverishment of suitors, and the subversion of the 
authority of bishops and metropolitans. Vast sums of money 
were in this way continually draining out of England ; and 
it should be remembered too, that by custom, or the con- 
cession of princes, the jurisdiction of the Church extended 
in those ages to a great number of temporal causes, besides 
those of wills, matrimony, tithes, and ecclesiastical property, 
the right of patronage, and the correction of morals, to which 
it is now chiefly limited. It is admitted, even by the most 
learned Romanists, that appeals to the papal see are of mere 
human institution. 

About the twelfth century it became customary with the 
popes to give dispensations or exemptions from the laws of 
the Church. They would, either for money or favour, per- 
mit one person to hold several benefices or even bishoprics. 

12* 



138 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

They would dispense with a bishop elect remaining without 
ordination for years,* or would permit children or other im- 
proper persons to be nominated to benefices. They would 
give dispensations for non-residence ; for irregularities of all 
sorts. In short, there was scarcely any law or rule of the 
Church which they did not continually dispense with. The 
consequence was, that ecclesiastical discipline became most 
grievously relaxed. The bishops and clergy were too fre- 
quently infected by such evil examples ; and a spirit of world- 
liness, self-indulgence, and habitual neglect of duties, began 
largely to prevail. 

About the same time the popes began to claim the ap- 
pointment to archbishoprics, bishoprics, and all other bene- 
fices. The appointment to the former was first seized on. 
The ancient custom of sending a pall to the bishop of the 
principal see in each country, was made the pretext for first 
exacting an oath of obedience to the pope, then prohibiting 
the discharge of any metropolitical powers without it. At 
length the popes began to issue bulls, appointing the metro- 
politan to his see ; and afterwards, especially during the great 
western schism, from 1370 to 1414, when rival popes divided 
the whole of Europe into two or three different communions, 
the appointment to bishoprics, and to all other benefices, was 
usurped. 

The plenary indulgences which the popes issued, first to 
the Crusaders, but afterwards to many other persons, com- 
pleted the ruin of the penitential discipline of the Church. 
These indulgences or pardons were the remission of the 
lengthened works of penitence imposed by the ancient can- 
ons. All that was necessary to obtain them, was to confess 
to a priest all past sins, to go to the crusade in Palestine or in 
some other country, or to perform some other work assigned 
by the pope. 

Such were some of the principal evils under which the 

♦[During which his episcopal functions were discharged, if at all, by 
vicars, in episcopal orders. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 1054-1517. MONASTIC ABUSES. 139 

western Churches suffered from the papal supremacy. That 
supremacy was chiefly sustained by the monks and the beg- 
ging friars. The former now gradually became extremely 
relaxed in discipline, and fell into contempt. In the thir- 
teenth century they received incomes from their monasteries, 
and their situations became so many good benefices. They 
went out without permission, accepted invitations from lay- 
men, and remained out of their cloister. They had proper- 
ty of their own, borrowed money, went security for others, 
and partook of all the indulgences of ordinary life. Labour 
was now commonly discontinued, the time of fasting very 
much abbreviated, on the pretence that human nature had less 
strength than in ancient times. The monks were now no 
longer in deserts, apart from society, and devoted to medita- 
tion and silence. They studied at the universities, mingled 
in the affairs of Church and State, undertook the care of 
parishes, indulged in recreations. They were generally 
exempt from the visitations of bishops, by the favour of the 
Roman pontiffs, and left entirely to their own management. 

All this was widely different from the manners of the an- 
cient monks, who were religious in deed, as a learned wri- 
ter has said, and not merely in name. There was little 
thought of following the example of the venerable St. Colum- 
ban. When Sigebert, king of France, had offered him 
large possessions in that country, in the hope of retaining 
him there, the holy man replied : " We who have forsaken 
our own, that according to the commandment of the Gospel, 
we might follow the Lord, ought not to embrace other men's 
riches, lest paradventure we should prove transgressors of 
the divine commandment. " The rule universally adopted by 
the primitive ascetics was, that " they which live in monas- 
teries should work in silence, and eat their own bread." 

The begging friars, who were instituted in the thirteenth 
century, exhibited for a time a very ardent zeal, and a spirit 
of poverty and self-denial, which in some degree resembled 
that of the ancient ascetics. Their great boast was, to pos- 



140 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

sess no property whatever, either personally or as a commu- 
nity. This, however, did not prevent them from having 
large funds at their disposal ; for while they would have es- 
teemed it an unpardonable offence to receive any thing for 
themselves directly, they had no scruple in receiving dona- 
tions and benefactions to any amount " for the pope and the 
Roman Church," to be applied, however, to their own par- 
ticular uses. This ingenious distinction enabled them to pro- 
fess their own utter poverty, to beg with the utmost importu- 
nity, and to be at once theoretically the poorest, and practi- 
cally the wealthiest orders in Europe. 

Richard Fitz- Ralph, archbishop of Armagh, in the four- 
1 *340 1 ^fiO teenth century, who was a strong oppo- 
nent of the begging friars, objected against 
them, in the presence of the pope and cardinals, that in his 
time " scarce could any great or mean man of the clergy or 
the laity eat his meat, but such kind of beggars would be at 
his elbow ; not like other poor folks, humbly craving alms at 
the gate or the door, (as St. Francis did command and teach 
them in his testament,) by begging, but without shame in- 
truding themselves into courts or houses, and lodging there, 
where, without any invitation at all, they eat and drink what 
they find among them ; and not content with that, carry away 
with them either wheat, or meal, or bread, or flesh, or 
cheeses, although there were but two in a house, in a kind 
of extorting manner, there being none that can deny them, 
unless he should cast away natural modesty." Religion was 
degraded by this mean and sordid system, which clothed it- 
self with the character of superior piety and perfection, 
while it disgusted every pious mind by its habits of grasping 
extortion. The spirit of secularity and of luxury soon found 
an entrance amongst these begging friars ; they became still 
more engaged in the affairs of the world than the monks, and 
fixed their residences in the midst of populous cities and of 
the world. 

What might naturally be expected, followed. The monas- 



A.D. 1054-1517. PENITENCE. 141 

teries, which had been originally intended to afford examples 
of perfect purity, devotion towards God, and deadness to the 
world, were polluted by gross sins ; and having ceased to be 
advantageous to Christianity, — though even in the worst times 
they were useful to a certain extent in preserving ancient 
books and monuments, and in affording education, — they had 
become an incumbrance to the Church, which it was neces- 
sary to remove. 

The bishops and clergy themselves shared but too often in 
the evils of the times. We read of archbishops and bishops 
engaged in wars, crusades, and other temporal avocations. 
They were chancellors, chief-justiciaries, ministers, regents, 
embassadors. Hunting and hawking were their not unfre- 
quent amusements. They were engaged more in temporal 
than spiritual affairs. The clergy were still ignorant, though 
less so than in former ages. They too much neglected 
preaching ; and the mendicant friars, by permission of the 
popes, half superseded them in their offices, — preached, ad- 
ministered the sacraments, and became spiritual directors of 
their parishioners. The bishops and clergy were often ex- 
ceedingly unpopular amongst the laity, and bitter complaints 
were made of their ambition and exactions. 

Let me now notice a few of the corruptions introduced in 
these ages. In the eleventh century it was supposed that for 
every particular sin it was necessary to fulfil the time of peni- 
tence prescribed by the ancient canons ; so that if ten years 
had been appointed for homicide, a man who had committed 
that sin twenty times was bound to discharge two hundred 
years of penance. This led ingenious men to discover 
ways of paving the debt. Peter Damian, , nn ~ n ~„ . 

in the twelfth century, affirmed that the 
repetition of the Psalter twenty times, accompanied by 
discipline (that is, scourging,) was equal to a hundred years 
of penitence. A friend of his requested him, at the begin- 
ning of Lent, to impose on him a thousand years of peni- 
tence, and he nearly finished his satisfaction before the end 



142 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

of Lent ! Another invention was the discharge of penitence 
by one person for another. These strange doctrines obtain- 
ed much popularity, though many persons disapproved of 
them. 

A distinct office in honour of the Virgin was used by some 
persons in the tenth century; it became common in the 
eleventh ; and the monks, about the same time, added the 
office of the dead to their daily devotions. In these ages, 
persons not unfrequently, on the approach of death, caused 
themselves to be arrayed in the garments of monks, imagin- 
ing that these holy vestments would protect them against the 
devil. In the thirteenth century, a new devotion for the laity 
was invented by Dominic. Men were taught to repeat the 
angel's salutation to the Virgin 150 times, and the Lord's 
Prayer fifteen times, that is, once after each decade of Aves. 
The prayers were reckoned by beads ; and the whole cere- 
mony obtained the name of Rosary. Dominic invented some 
other devotions to the Virgin Mary. The scapulary, a por- 
tion of the monk's dress, was now worn by some persons as 
a sort of charm : the Carmelites were loud in their as- 
surances of the blessings which might be expected by its 
possessors. Several persons wore sackcloth or haircloth 
next their skin, by way of voluntary mortification. The 
mendicant friars introduced a custom which was extremely 
prejudicial in its effects. They granted absolution imme- 
diately to those who confessed their sins, without waiting for 
the accomplishment of the penitence which they assigned 
them. This led men to think they might sin without dan- 
ger ; as a simple confession, with promise of amendment 
was sufficient to procure the priests' remission of their sins 
In the thirteenth century also, the eucharist began to be ele- 
vated after consecration, and the people were taught to bow 
or prostrate themselves at the same time. Hence many per- 
sons were in danger of offering worship to the bread and 
wine. It became customary in this age to administer the sa- 
crament to the laitv onlv in one kind, that is, the bread. 



A.D. 1054-1517. SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGY. 143 

This custom was inconsistent with the institution of our 
Lord, and the practice of the whole Church for more than a 
thousand years; but it was nevertheless sanctioned by the 
councils of Constance in 1414, and Basil in 1438. I have 
not spoken of the invocation of saints, the veneration for 
relics and images, which in these ages continued to be ex- 
cessive, nor of many other minor superstitions and errors. 
These will sufficiently show the great necessity for reforma- 
tion in the Church. It is true, indeed, that many persons 
were more or less free from superstitions ; but a great change 
was imperatively called for. Few things needed reformation 
more than the system of theological instruction in universi- 
ties, commonly called the scholastic theology. 

Schools for the instruction of the clergy and laity had ex- 
isted generally in cathedral churches and monasteries from 
the remotest antiquity ; but, about the twelfth century, the 
schools in some cities became very celebrated and extensive, 
and were known under the name of Universities. The prin- 
cipal universities, during the middle ages, were those of 
Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca. They were en- 
dowed with revenues, and granted many privileges, by 
princes and popes. Instruction was given to students in the 
four faculties of theology, law, medicine, and the arts, by 
the doctors in those faculties. Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris, 
a celebrated doctor of theology, published 
a treatise entitled the The Book of Sentences, 
in which the various doctrines of revelation were collected 
and explained from the writings of the fathers. This work 
formed the basis of the scholastic theology ; it became the 
text-book on which all the subsequent theologians commented, 
and to which they added all the subtilties of the Aristotelic 
philosophy. The ablest of the scholastic writers were Tho- 
mas Aquinas and Scotus. 

The text-book of the canonists, or students of canon law, 
was the work of Gratian, a Benedictine monk, entitled De- 
cretum, and written about a.d. 1130, in which the ancient 



144 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XX. 

canons of councils were collected, and reconciled with each 
other and with the decretals of the popes. In this collection 
all the spurious decretals of the early popes, fabricated in the 
eighth and ninth centuries, were introduced ; and as Gratian 
entertained very exaggerated notions of the papal authority, 
this book, which was immediately received as of the highest 
authority in all the schools of Europe, tended greatly to in- 
crease the influence of the popes. The study of canon law 
became so popular, and led so certainly to advancement in 
the Church, that theology and the arts were much neglected ; 
and more than one pope felt himself bound to discourage 
this exclusive application. 

From the twelfth century, the writers of the early fathers 
and the decrees of councils were little known in the schools, 
except through the medium of The Book of Sentences or the 
Decretum. This is allowed by a learned Roman Catholic 
historian, the Abbe Fleury, who says, that " it was the mis- 
fortune of the doctors of the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
turies to know but little of the writings of the fathers, espe- 
cially the more ancient, and to be deficient in the aids requi- 
site for well understanding them. It is not that their books 
were lost ; they existed, for we have them still ; but the 
copies were scarce, and hidden in the libraries of the ancient 
monasteries, where little use was made of them." He adds, 
that King Louis IX. of France, in the thirteenth century, 
caused many of them to be transcribed ; and that Vincent 
1 9 ™ of Beauvais made extracts from them, and 

John of Salisbury cited them frequent- 
a.d. 1130-1182. , uU+ „ u V u+u . 

ly: " but, he continues, " this was mere- 
ly the curiosity of some individuals. The generality of stu- 
dents, and even of doctors, limited themselves to a few books, 
chiefly those of modern authors, which they understood bet- 
ter than the ancients." " I do not cease to wonder," he con- 
tinues, " that in such calamitous times, and with such small 
aid, the doctors so faithfully preserved to us the deposit of 
tradition with regard to doctrine." The Abbe Goujet, an- 



A.D. 1054-1517. SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGY. 145 

other Roman Catholic divine, confirms this ; and observes 
also, that the study of Scripture " had been extremely neg- 
lected" in these ages. " They did not study it even in the 
schools of theology but with lukewarmness ; and often con- 
tented themselves with such extracts from it as were found in 
the writings of some superficial theologian. Hence arose 
the ignorance of the clergy, and the few defenders which the 

Church found against heresies At length the 

study of holy Scripture caused men to escape from this 
lethargy ; men then perceived the crowd of errors and false 
opinions which had inundated the whole Church, and had 
nearly choked the good seed." The fallen state of theolo- 
gical study at the time of the Reformation may be collected 
from the complaints of the faculty of arts in the university 
of Paris in 1530. " The study of sacred Scripture," they 
said, " is neglected. The holy Gospels are no longer cited. 
The authority of St. Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Augus- 
tine, and the other fathers, is not employed. Theology has 
become nothing but a sophistical science." Under such 
circumstances it was to be expected that erroneous opinions 
would become more or less prevalent in the Church. The 
holy Scriptures had been undoubtedly given by God, that 
" the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished un- 
to all good works ;" and when this divine means of grace and 
wisdom was neglected, as it certainly was to a considerable 
degree in these times, it could not be supposed that the same 
purity of doctrine or of practice should exist as in the primi- 
tive ages of the Church. 



13 



146 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE FOREIGN REFORMATION. 

a.d. 1517-1839. 

The enormous power usurped by the popes, and the 
abuses in its exercise, at length paved the way for its own 
subversion, and for the Reformation. Never were its exac- 
tions and abuses so excessive as in the time of what is called 
the great schism, from 1369 to 1414, when Europe was di- 
vided under the domination of rival popes. The papacy was 
greatly lowered in public estimation by this division ; and 
France, on one occasion, withdrew itself from the obedience 
of both popes. The contests which arose between the coun- 
cils of Pisa, Constance, and Basil, in the early part of the 
fifteenth century, and the popes, in which each party assert- 
ed its own infallibility, and its superiority to the other, excit- 
ed a spirit of inquiry. " The reformation of the Church, in 
its head and members," was now one of the objects avowed 
by every considerable council that assembled. WicklifFe had, 
1 *39d 1 994 * n tne P rececnn g century, declaimed against 
the popes and against several abuses ;* 

Burnt a.d. and he was closely followed by Huss, and 

1415 & 1416. Jerome of Prague : but their opinions were 

mingled with much that was exceptionable ; and they seem 
to have been unfitted rightly to conduct the mighty work of 
reformation. The revival of learning, in the fifteenth cen- 
tury, was the great forerunner of improvement. Men now 
began to study the writings of the fathers, which had only 
been known at second-hand, from the books of Lombard and 
Gratian. The introduction of the Greek and Hebrew lan- 
guages (entirely unknown during the middle ages) rendered 

* [More ought to have been said of this great precursor of the Reforma- 
tion. See his very interesting and able Life, by Mr. Le Ras. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 1517-1839. LUTHER. 147 

the study of Scripture in the originals possible ; the scholas- 
tic writers began to lose their credit with men of education. 

At length the Reformation began ; but not as it could have 
been desired ; not promoted by the heads of the Church, not 
regulated by the decrees of councils. An individual monk 
in Saxony was made the involuntary instrument by which 
this great work was set on foot. Martin Luther, an Augus- 
tinian friar, when he declaimed against the scandalous sale 

of indulgences by the papal agent Tetzel, had in . 

... ° ^ . ! i A - D - 1517. 

little notion of opposing the papal supremacy, 

or reforming the Church. He simply rejected with indigna- 
tion the notion, that by purchasing certain indulgences, the 
soul was to be freed from torments after death ; and remind- 
ed men that indulgences were originally nothing more than 
the remission of canonical penance in this life. When as- 
sailed by Eckius and many others with the most furious vio- 
lence, he was led to further investigation; and he showed, in 
his conference with Eckius, at Leipsic, that the 1Mn 

Roman Church had not originally any suprema- 
cy over the universal Church. He, however, testified to the 
pope his earnest desire for peace, and submitted himself en- 
tirely to him : but when Luther declined to retract, without 
any discussion, whatever Cardinal Cajetan might censure in 
his doctrine, the pope, notwithstanding his submissive tone, 
and protestations that he did not intend any separation 
from the Church, excommunicated him and his favourers, 
in 1521. 

Luther, and his friends Melancthon, Carlostadt, and all 
who were of the same sentiments, were thus separated from 
the communion of the pope, and of his adherents in Ger- 
many, not voluntarily, or by their own act. They were now, 
however, able to examine and to speak more freely ; and a 
strong controversy immediately arose, in which the prevalent 
errors and superstitions were assailed unsparingly ; w T hile 
every effort was made by the Romish party to procure the 
extirpation and destruction of their opponents. The Lu- 



148 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI. 

thcran party were protected by the electors of Saxony and 
Brandenburg, and many other princes and states in Ger- 
many ; and they continually called for the assembling of a 
free and general council, to whose decision they offered 
to submit themselves. In the meantime, various abuses were 
corrected in the churches of those states, and a temporary 
system of Church government was established by the Luther- 
ans, which they intended to be replaced by the ordinary epis- 
copal government, when the council had arranged their dis- 
putes, and they should be united again to the Church. But 
Providence forbade the accomplishment of their wishes : an 
arrangement, which the contending parties had come to in 
the diet or parliament of Spires, in 1526, and which left the 
Lutheran states free to regulate their own ecclesiastical affairs 
until the general council could be called together, was set 

1 psoQ as ide by a new diet at the same place, in which 
all alterations were prohibited by a majority of 
votes. The Lutheran princes and states entered a protest 
against this edict, and from this they were termed Pro- 
testants. The term Protestant, therefore, does not proper- 
ly signify a protest against the errors of the Church of Rome, 
but against the edict of Spires. It belongs properly to the 
Lutherans, by whom in fact it is claimed, as being peculiar- 
ly their own ; while the Church of England has never ap- 
plied the term to herself, nor ever used it in any of her for- 

- _ ~ mularies. In the following year a diet was con- 
vened at Augsburg, by the Emperor Charles 
V., with the intent of terminating these differences. The 
Lutheran party here presented their confession of faith, 
which has since been called the Confession of Augsburg ; and 
which contains a brief summary of the Christian doctrine, 
together with their objections to the chief errors and super- 
stitions then prevalent. The Confession of Augsburg pro- 
fesses that there is nothing in it M which differs from the 
Scriptures or the Roman Church." It declares that they 
"differ concerning no article of faith from the Catholic 



A.D. 1517-1839. LUTHERANS. 149 

Church, but only omit some abuses." " There is no design," 
they said, " to deprive the bishops of their authority ; but 
this only is sought, that the Gospel be permitted to be purely 
taught, and a few observances be relaxed." 

Notwithstanding this moderation, the diet, by order of the 
emperor, condemned the Protestants, and ordered them to 
submit themselves to the pope. They were then obliged to 
confederate in their own defence, in the league of Smalcald, 
and by this means they obtained toleration from the emperor. 
Various controversies and conferences afterwards took place 
between the opposed parties, especially in 1541, at Ratisbon, 
when many of the points of difference were removed, and 
both parties, including the papal nuncio, were in great hopes 
of an entire agreement. 

The Protestants had continued their appeal to a free 
general council from the year 1520 ; but the pope, who had 
usurped for some centuries past the privilege of assembling 
such councils, refused to do so in the present instance, except 
in places where there was no security for the safety of the Pro- 
testants. The pope at length fixed on Trent as the place of 
meeting ; and when the Protestants objected to it, on various 
grounds, the emperor and pope conspired to crush them by 
force. Accordingly, Charles V. declared war against them, 
and overthrew them in the battle of Muhlberg. .. - .„ 

In the mean time, the council of Trent had met 
in 1545 ; and having decided several points in controversy in 
the absence of the Protestants, had been prorogued in 1547. 
The emperor, therefore, being unable to compel the Protest- 
ants to send deputies, was obliged to be satisfied with issuing 
a formulary of faith and discipline, called The Interim; in 
which the chief points permitted to the Lutherans were the 
marriage of the clergy, and the use of the cup in the sacra- 
ment. When the council again assembled, the nrK1 
Protestants were compelled to send deputies 
there ; but when they required that the articles already de- 
cided by forty or fifty bishops at Trent should be re-examin- 

13* 



150 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI. 

cd, they were not listened to. They were consequently 
obliged to withdraw from the council, and to retain their own 
observances, without any hope of reconciliation with the 
Church. They were enabled to mantam their religious liber- 
ty by the advantages gained over the emperor by the Elector 
ie.~r> Maurice of Saxony, which led to the pacifica- 

tion of Passau, by which the religion and 
liberties of the Protestants were secured from further molest- 
ation. 

In the mean time, the Reformation, as established by Lu- 
ther and Melancthon, spread itself widely. Denmark, Nor- 
way, and Sweden, together with a great part of Germany, 
embraced it. Monasteries were suppressed ; purgatory, in- 
dulgences, invocation of saints, worship of pictures and re- 
lics, flagellations, communion in one kind only, rosaries, scap- 
ularies, and a number of other errors and superstitions, dis- 
appeared. The Scriptures were translated afresh, and read 
by all the people. Divine service was celebrated in a known 
language, and sermons were frequently delivered. Episco- 
pacy was never rejected by the Lutherans ; they even retain 
the form of that ecclesiastical government in several coun- 
tries, and it is said that their bishops in Sweden are validly 
ordained. 

It is to be lamented, however, that the Lutherans after a 
time forgot that their system was merely provisional, and de- 
signed only to last till a general council could be lawfully 
assembled. They then began to pretend that their ancestors 
had separated voluntarily from the western Church, and jus- 
tified this act by reasons which sanctioned schism and separa- 
tion generally. In the seventeenth century there were many 
learned men amongst them ; but they were much troubled by 
religious parties, and were threatened with destruction in the 
war which was waged against them for thirty years by the 
emperors and the Romish party, and which was at length 
ft terminated by the peace of Westphalia. In the 
middle of the following century, a spirit of false 



A.D. 1517-1839. REFORMED. 151 

liberality and scepticism began to infect the Lutheran commu- 
nities. The Confession of Augsburg, and other formularies 
of the sixteenth century, to which their ministers had sub- 
scribed, lost their authority, and an unbounded freedom of 
opinion on all points was encouraged. The result was, the 
rise of a party headed by the notorious 179*; 17Q1 

Semler, who, under the mask of Chris- 
tianity, explained away all the doctrines of revelation, de- 
nied the miracles and other facts of sacred history, and sub- 
verted the genuineness and authenticity of the Bible. This 
infidelity became dreadfully prevalent among the Protestants 
of Germany and Denmark in the course of the last and pre- 
sent centuries ; the universities were full of it, the ministers of 
religion tainted with it ; and the Lutheran faith seems under 
an eclipse, from whence we fervently pray that it may be de- 
livered. 

It is now time to consider the Reformation in Switzerland, 
France, and the United Provinces. Zuingle, a clergyman in 
Switzerland, from the year 1519 preached in the church at 
Zurich against the corruptions of that period ;* but after some 
time he was treated as a heretic by the adherents of the 
pope ; and had he not been protected by the magistrates, 
would have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. A reformation 
then took place in Switzerland, which was carried too far in 
some respects ; and on the subject of the sacraments especial- 
ly, Zuingle was severely condemned by Luther for consider- 
ing the eucharist a mere sign of our Lord's body. His views 
on baptism were also very defective. Some years after his 
death, Calvin, a man of abilities and learning, obtained a 
vast influence among the reformed in Switzerland, France, 
Holland, Germany, &c. He was called to i^ai 

Geneva by the inhabitants of that city, and 
became their pastor. His well known doctrinal system 

* [Zuingle's stand, as a Scriptural teacher, in opposition to the prevalent 
errors both of doctrine and practice, had been taken before Luther's open 
hostilities j even as early as 1510. — Am. Ed.] 



152 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI. 

of irrespective election and irresistible grace obtained a wide 
currency. His views on the eucharist were apparently very 
much more sound than those of Zuingle. He was the foun- 
der of the Presbyterian system of Church government. 

In France, the doctrines of Luther obtained adherents 
very early ; but their professors were most bitterly perse- 
cuted for a long series of years. They were favoured by 
many of the nobility, and headed by the Queen of Navarre, 
and afterwards by her son Henry IV. of France. A league 
was formed for their extirpation by the powerful family of the 
Guises; and, in 1572, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, com- 
manded by Charles IX., destroyed many of their leaders and 
a vast multitude of the people. At length, after much cruel 
l fsqq persecution, they obtained toleration by the 
edict of Nantes. The reformed party in France 
at that time followed the doctrines of Calvin, and Beza his 
coadjutor. They continued to exist during the seventeenth 
century ; but in the year 1685, Louis XIV. revoked the edict 
of Nantes, and they were then compelled either to emigrate, 
to conform to the Church of France, or to conceal themselves. 
They have latterly become a small and feeble party. 

The persecutions of the Spanish government for the sake 
of religion, obliged the seven United Provinces of Holland 
to arm in their own defence in the latter part of the sixteenth 
century ; and after a desperate struggle, they succeeded in 
obtaining civil and religious freedom. They also adopted the 
doctrines of Calvin ; but in the following century they were 
torn by controversies between his followers and those of Ar- 
minius. 

It may be observed in general of the reformed commu- 
nities in Switzerland, France, and the United Provinces, 
that they have too generally fallen away from the doctrines 
originally believed by them, into the Socinian or Arian 
heresies. 

It remains now to notice briefly a few of the principal 
leaders of the Reformation on the continent. 



A.D. 1517-1839. LUTHER. 153 

Martin Luther was born in Saxony, in 1483 ; and having 
been early instructed in letters, he went to the university of 
Erfurt, where he studied the classics, the Aristotelic philo- 
sophy, and the civil law, with the intent of advancing him- 
self at the bar ; but he was diverted from this intention by 
the following accident. As he was walking with a friend 
one day in the fields, he was struck by lightning, which 
threw him to the ground, and which killed his companion at 
his side. This circumstance so profoundly affected him, that, 
without communicating his design to his friends, he imme- ( 
diately entered the order of Augustinian friars. Here he 
applied himself closely to the study of the scholastic writers, 
and afterwards to that of the Bible ; and was ordained priest 
in 1507, after which he was chosen by the elector of Saxony 
to a professorship in his new university of Wittemburg. In 
1510 he was appointed by his order to go to Rome to plead 
their cause, on occasion of a dispute with their general ; and 
this afforded him an opportunity to see and condemn the gross 
corruptions and scandals of all sorts in that city ; but it was 
not till Tetzel began the scandalous sale of indulgences in 
Germany, and promised remission of all past and future sins 
for money, that Luther was led to examine deeply into the 
existing abuses. He had, however, no intention of separating 
from the communion of the Church ; he repeatedly, in the 
course of four years, between 1517 and 1521, declared that 
he was ready to be silent and to submit himself to the judg- 
ment of bishops, or of the Roman see, provided that his 
adversaries were also commanded to be silent. Even when 
he found that the pope was under the influence of his personal 
enemies, he did not reject the jurisdiction of the Church, but 
appealed to the next general council ; and, in fine, he and 
his friends were expelled from the communion of the Roman 
Church in a very unjustifiable manner, and did not volun- 
tarily forsake it. 

In 1521 Luther was called to the diet of Worms by the 
emperor, to ascertain whether he really held the errors im- 



154 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. . CH. XXI. 

putcd to him. His friends were very reluctant that he should 
attend the diet, fearing that, in spite of the emperor \s safe 
conduct, he might be seized and put to death by his enemies ; 
but Luther said, " I am lawfully called to appear in that 
city, and thither will I go, in the name of the Lord, though 
as many devils as there are tiles on the houses were there 
combined against me." In this diet Luther firmly refused to 
retract his doctrines, unless they were proved contrary to the 
word of God ; and being dismissed unhurt, he was presently 
seized and hid in the castle of Wartburg by his friend the 
elector of Saxony ; for a severe edict had been issued 
against him by the diet immediately after he had departed* 
In this solitude Luther began the translation of the Bible into 
the vernacular language, and composed several books in de- 
fence of his doctrines. In 1522 he returned to Wittemburg 
to check the excesses of Carlostadt, who had broken the 
images of saints, and was proceeding with reforms indis- 
creetly and irregularly. Soon after, great part of the Bible 
was published, and had much effect in promoting the progress 
of the Reformation throughout Germany. From this time 
Luther continued to reside at Wittemburg, and was the 
head of the Reformation in Germany. He composed com- 
mentaries on the Bible ; was always vehemently opposed to 
the papal authority, which he regarded as an anti- christian 
usurpation ; and died in 1546, in the sixty-second year of 
his age. 

Philip Melancthon, a friend of Luther, and who suc- 
ceeded at his death to the chief influence amongst the Pro- 
testant party in Germany, was born in 1495, and was distin- 
guished at an early age by his attainments in every sort of 
literature ; so that, in 1518, when only twenty-three years of 
age, he was appointed professor of Greek at Wittemburg, 
where he contracted a close intimacy with Luther, and was 
riq converted to his opinions by the disputation 
which took place bet wen Luther and Eckius. 
Melancthon, in 1520, read lectures on St. Paul's epistles, 



a.d. 1517-1839. calvin. 155 

which were highly approved by Luther, and printed. He 
afterwards drew up the Confession of Augsburg, and the 
Apology or defence of that confession, which became the 
standards of doctrine among the Lutheran party. He was 
remarkable for his moderation ; was always most desirous 
that the Church should be re-united ; and was ready to make 
considerable sacrifices in order to attain so desirable an ob- 
ject. He wished the authority of bishops to be preserved, 
and would even have been contented to allow some authority 
to the see of Rome : but his views were far too moderate to 
satisfy the papal party ; and the Lutherans had been too se- 
verely persecuted to regard them with much favour. Me- 
lancthon wrote much in defence of Luther, and against the 
Romish errors ; and died in 1560. 

John Calvin was born in France, in 1509, and studied at 
the university of Paris. The discipline of the Church at 
that time was so relaxed, that although he was not in sacred 
orders, he had been presented successively to three benefices 
when he was but twenty years old. Having studied the 
Scriptures, and becoming alive to the errors and superstitions 
then prevalent, he resolved to relinquish the design of taking 
holy orders, and to apply himself to the law ; on which he 
resigned his benefices. His studies led him to embrace the 
doctrines of the Reformation ; and a violent persecution aris- 
ing against all who "were of that way" in France, he was 
compelled to fly for his life into Switzerland, where, in 1535, 
he published his Institution,* as an apology for those who 
were burned for their religion in France. The next year, as 
he passed through Geneva, the citizens of that town com- 
pelled him to be their pastor and professor of divinity; but, 
in consequence of his resolution to put a stop /to the immo- 
ralities and factions of that place, by enforcing a rigorous 
discipline, he was banished from Geneva. He was again re- 
called in 1541, when he established a form of Church disei- 

* [Namely, a systematic exhibition of religious truth, according to the 
views of those who were persecuted as heretics. — Am. Ed.] 



156 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI. 

pline, and a consistory, invested with power to inflict canoni- 
cal censures and excommunications, to which the magis- 
trates and people of Geneva promised obedience. Calvin 
was a vigorous opponent of the common errors and super- 
stitions, and caused Servetus, who blasphemed against the 
Holy Trinity, to be put to death. He wrote many commen- 
taries on Scripture. His influence was widely extended 
throughout the reformed communities by his correspondence. 
Calvin was a man of great genius 5 considerable learning, and 
of irreproachable private character ; but of a zeal which was 
too little under the guidance of charity. His position, as the 
minister of the people at Geneva, was certainly an irregu- 
larity and anomaly, as he had never received holy orders. 
It was only excusable under the difficulties of the times, 
when the bishops of the Continent were too generally under 
the influence of the pope, and the adherents of the Reforma- 
tion were unjustly cast out of the Church, and treated as 
heretics. It seems to have been held by many persons, and 
not without some grounds of probability, that in such an ex- 
treme case, a Christian community might constitute pastors ; 
although we cannot feel certain that divine grace accompa- 
nies such ministrations. It was, perhaps, a reliance on the 
uncovenanted mercies of God, which consoled many pious 
men in the unavoidable absence of that lawful ordinary 
ministry, which was instituted by Jesus Christ, and which 
has continued by successive ordinations in all ages. Calvin 
died in 1564. 

Ulric Zuingle was born in Switzerland, in 1484, and 
studied at Basil and Vienna ; after which he received holy 
orders, and became successively pastor of Glaris, and preach- 
er at the abbey of Einsidlen. Having diligently studied 
Scripture, the fathers, and schoolmen, he began to see the cor- 
ruptions so generally prevalent ; and he addressed himself, 
in the first instance, to the bishop of Constance, and the cardi- 
nal bishop of Sion, urging them to reform the Swiss churches. 
Being appointed, in 1519, to the principal church in Zurich, 



a.d. 1530-1839. zuingle. 157 

he declaimed against the sale of indulgences, and against 
other common errors. Controversies ensued between Zuin- 
gle and the vicar-general of the bishop of Constance, who 
accused him of heresy and sedition to the magistrates of 
Zurich. Zuingle and his friends declared "that they did 
not, either in act or intention, separate from the Church." 
Zuingle was again accused, in 1522 and 1523, by the Romish 
party, as a heretic ; but he overcame his adversaries in con- 
troversy; and the magistrates of Zurich decreed that he 
should not be molested, and that the clergy should preach 
nothing except what could be proved from holy Scripture. 
After this, Zuingle and his friends being entirely separated 
from communion by the Romish party, they effected various 
reforms and changes in rites ; and they became involved in 
controversy with Luther on the subject of the holy eucharist. 
Zuingle seems to have fallen into the error of Berengar* on 
this point ; but it was hoped for a long time, that he and his 
adherents might be brought to a soun/ler mind. Conferences 
with this object continued long after his death, which took 
place in 1531. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

on the british churches. 

a.d. 1530-1839. 

The Churches of Britain or England had now existed for 
more than thirteen hundred years. Originally (for six hun- 
dred years) independent of the Roman see, as being beyond 
the limits of that patriarchate, they had gradually become 
subject to its jurisdiction. The invasion of Britain by the 
Saxons, and the subsequent mission of St. Augustine, by Pope 
Gregory, afforded the opportunity for extending the Roman 

[* See notes on pages 78, and 81. — Am. Ed.] 
14 



158 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

power ; and Augustine was sent the pall, the emblem of au- 
thority, as vicar of the holy see. For many ages, however, 
we hear little of any exercise of jurisdiction by the popes in 
fi8 ~ England : the English bishops and kings did not 
permit appeals to Rome. When Wilfrid, bishop 
of York, appealed against an English synod which had de- 
posed him from his diocese, and obtained a decree in his fa- 
, ^-,0 vour from the pope, that decree was disregarded 
in England. At length, from the time of Gregory 
VII., the papal jurisdiction was pushed into England, as it 
was into other countries ; legates made frequent visits, held 
councils, exacted subsidies. Appeals, dispensations, man- 
dates, reserves, annates, bulls, and all the other inconvenien- 
ces of papal usurpation, followed each other in rapid suc- 
cession ; and for four centuries, no country in Europe suf- 
fered more, and with greater reluctance, than England. But 
the popes and the kings of England had, after much disputa- 
tion, made their agreement, and the Church was their prey. 

Religion had become deteriorated in England, as well as 
in the remainder of the western Church. A spirit of oppo- 
sition to prevailing errors had been excited by WicklifFe ; 
but he and his followers, the Lollards, advocated several 
erroneous and seditious opinions : they were condemned by 
the clergy, and persecuted by the state. The Scriptures, 
however, were translated by WicklifFe; and thus the way 
was prepared for religious improvement. 

The scruples of Henry VIII. as to the lawfulness of his 
marriage with Catharine, the widow of his elder brother, led 
ultimately to the removal of the papal power in England, 
and to the Reformation. Henry in 1526 commenced nego- 
tiations with the pope, for the dissolution of his marriage, 
requesting that the papal dispensation by which it had been 
contracted might be examined, or declared invalid. But the 
pope, under the influence of the Emperor Charles V., the 
nephew of Catharine, protracted the affair, by various expe- 
dients, for six years. At length Henry, wearied by the arts 



A.D. 1530-1839. BRITISH REFORMATION. 159 

and chicanery of the court of Rome, had recourse to an ex- 
pedient, first suggested by Cranmer, a learned doctor of Cam- 
bridge, who was soon after made archbishop of Canterbury, 
namely, to consult all the universities of Europe on the ques- 
tion, " whether the papal dispensation for such a marriage 
was valid ;" and to act on their decision without further ap- 
peal to the pope. The question was accordingly put, and 
decided in the negative by the universities of Oxford, Cam- 
bridge, Paris, Bologna, Padua, Orleans, Angiers, Bourges, 
Toulouse, &c, and by a multitude of theologians and can- 
onists. Henry now being satisfied that his marriage with 
Catharine had been null and void from N the beginning, pri- 
vately married Anna Boleyn ; and the convo- -.ro^ 
. . a.d. 1532. 
cation of the Church of England immediately 

afterwards declared his former marriage null, and approved 
that recently contracted. 

In 1532 and 1533 the king and parliament of England 
suppressed by law -various usurped or superfluous privileges 
of the popes. First-fruits, tenths, pensions, annuities, pay- 
ments for bulls, palls, &c, censes, portions, Peter's-pence, 
and all the other pecuniary exactions of the court of Rome, 
were abolished. Bulls of institution to bishoprics or arch- 
bishoprics, and palls, were no longer to be sought from Rome. 
The prelates were, as formerly, to be elected and ordained 
in England. All appeals to Rome in ecclesiastical causes 
were suppressed ; and every cause was to be determined 
finally in England, according to ancient custom. All that 
great multiplicity of licenses, dispensations, compositions, fa- 
culties, grants, rescripts, delegacies, &c, by which the pon- 
tiffs had so grievously enervated the discipline of the Church 
and enriched themselves, was put an end to. Dispensations 
were in future only to be issued by the primate of England. 
Thus the various branches of the papal jurisdiction, most 
of which had been usurped within the four preceding centu- 
ries, were removed. The Church of England acquiesced in 
these proceedings, well knowing that no principle of justice 



160 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

or of right was infringed by them ; and in fine, the question 
being proposed to the bishops and clergy assembled in the 
1 ^4 provincial synods of Canterbury and York, 

" whether the bishop of Rome has, in the word 
of God, any greater jurisdiction in the realm of England 
than any other foreign bishop;" it was determined in the 
negative. The universities, chapters, monks, friars, &c, 
throughout the kingdom, declared their assent; one bishop 
only (Fisher) refused to unite in this general decision of the 
Church of England ; and thus the ordinary jurisdiction of 
the pope over England was regularly and lawfully suppressed. 
The door was now open for gradual improvement ; and 
though the king remained attached to some errors and abu- 
ses, several valuable reforms were made during the remainder 
of his reign. In 1537 and 1543, the convocation published 
two formularies of doctrine, entitled the Institution of a 
Christian Man, and the Necessary Doctrine and Erudition; 
^n which the doctrine of purgatory was disclaimed. Indul- 
gences were rejected by the same authority, together with all 
kneeling, bowing, and offering to images, and all worship 
before them was to be directed to God only, not to the image 
or the saint represented. Images abused by pilgrimages, and 
other special honours, were removed ; prayer to saints was 
prohibited, and their invocation only permitted under certain 
limitations. The superstitious use of relics was discouraged ; 
and various other superstitions, such as using gospels for 
charms, drinking holy water for the cure of diseases, &c, 
were prohibited. These were great advances and improve- 
ments ; but the king opposed a full reformation, and in the 
parliament of 1539 made penal laws against any who re- 
jected the doctrine of transubstantiation, the celibacy of the 
clergy, and some other points. The convocation of the cler- 
gy in 1531 had acknowledged the king to be "head of the 
Church of England, as far as it is allowable by the law of 
Christ." In virtue of this office, which Henry seems to have 
understood in a different sense from that of the convocation, 






A.D. 1530-1839. BRITISH REFORMATION. 161 

he appointed Lord Cromwell his vicar-general, and visitor 
of monasteries ; and a visitation of these institutions having 
been set on foot, they were found to be so generally corrupt 
and fallen from their rule, that they were all suppressed, 
and their enormous revenues were given to the king, with a 
portion of which he founded six new bishoprics in England. 

On the death of Henry VIII. in 1547, and the accession 
of Edward VI., the work of reformation proceeded freely. 
The communion was now given in both kinds to the laity, 
according to our Lord's institution and the practice of the 
Catholic Church; images and relics, so long abused to su- 
perstition, were removed ; the clergy were permitted to marry ; 
and the public prayers were translated from the old Latin 
offices of the English Church, with various improvements 
from the Greek and Oriental liturgies. These reforms were 
made by the united authority of the bishops, or convocation, 
and the parliament. 

The popes had thought proper to consider England in a 
state of schism and separation from the Church, as soon as 
their own usurped jurisdiction was abolished. The Church 
and realm of England repeatedly disclaimed any intention of 
separating from the communion of the Roman, French, Span- 
ish, and other western Churches, subject to the pope ; they 
never thought of refusing communion to the members of 
those Churches : but the popes and their party in the West 
still adhered obstinately to the mistaken notion, that the 
bishop of Rome was, by divine right, head of the universal 
Church ; and therefore they looked on the conduct of the 
English Church, in removing his power, as sinful ; and when 
the pope deposed and excommunicated Henry VIII. and his 
adherents, they considered England as out of the pale of the 
Church. There was a party in England which secretly held 
the same views, and were attached to the old superstitions, 
though they did not venture to separate from the Church. 

On the death of Edward in 1553, and the accession of 
Mary, who was a devoted adherent of the pope, the popish 

14* 



162 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

party obtained the ascendant for a time, and involved the 
Church in confusion and misery. No fewer than fourteen of 
the bishops, who were favourable te the Reformation, were 
expelled from their sees, by intimidation, by commissions ir- 
regularly appointed by the crown, or by mere intrusion of 
persons who had been schismatically appointed. They were 
replaced by others, who were constituted by the pope, in op- 
position to the laws and regulations approved by the Church 
of England during the two preceding reigns, and in violation 
of its liberties. Independently of which, the pope acted 
without any right of jurisdiction whatever; for his jurisdic- 
tion had been many years before regularly and validly sup- 
pressed by the Church of England, by whose permission 
alone it was at any time lawful ; and the Church had never, 
by any decree of its convocations, revised or created again 
that jurisdiction ; but the popish party merely implored the 
papal absolution for their schism. Consequently, all acts 
performed by the pope or his authority at this time were un- 
authorised and -null. At the same time, an obsequious par- 
liament repealed all the laws in favour of the Reformation ; 
and at their humble request the pope granted his absolution to 
the English nation for the schism of which it had been guilty. 
A most savage persecution assailed all who were in favour 
of reformation, and who rejected the papal supremacy. The 
venerable Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, Bishops Rid- 
ley, Latimer, Hooper, and hundreds of others, bishops, pres- 
byters, and pious men and women, fell victims to the ferocity 
of the papists, and attested with their last breath their ad- 
herence to the cause of pure religion. Three thousand of 
the clergy were expelled from their churches ; multitudes of 
confessors were driven into exile, where they lived till the 
death of this persecuting queen in 1558. 

The accession of the illustrious Queen Elizabeth was fol- 
lowed by the restoration of the Church to its former state. 
The laws which had been formerly made, with the full con- 
currence of the Church, in the reign of Henry and Edward, 



A.D. 1530-1839. ENGLISH CHURCHES. 163 

and which always remained in their spiritual obligation, hav- 
ing never been condemned by the Church of England, were 
now restored. The popish intruders into English bishoprics 
were expelled by the civil power, and their places were filled 
by orthodox prelates, who were ordained by some of the 
bishops who had been persecuted by Mary and driven into 
exile. The clergy generally approved of the return to pure 
religion, and retained their benefices, administering the sacra- 
ments and rites according to the English ritual. In 1562, the 
synod or convocation of England, published a formulary of 
doctrine, divided into thirty-nine articles, in which the doc- 
trines of the Catholic faith were briefly stated, and various 
errors and superstitions of the Romanists and others were 
rejected. This formulary was again approved by the convo- 
cation in 1571, and ordered to be subscribed by all the clergy. 
There was no schism for many years in England : all the 
people worshipped in the same churches, and acknowledged 
the same pastors. It is true that persons were to be found, 
who secretly cherished a love for the old superstitions and 
abuses, and for the Roman sway. This was not to be won- 
dered at. Men's minds will differ on almost every subject ; 
but more information would have probably removed in the end 
any such tendency. 

The pope was much annoyed at these proceedings in Eng- 
land ; he took no decided steps, however, for some time. 
At last, in 1569, Pius V. issued a bull, in which he excom- 
municated Queen Elizabeth and her supporters, absolved her 
subjects from their oaths of allegiance, and bestowed her 
dominions on the king of Spain. This bull caused the schism 
in England ; for the popish party, which had continued in 
communion with the Church of England up to that time, 
during the eleven past years of Elizabeth's reign, now began 
to separate themselves. Bedingfield, Cornwallis, and Sil- 
yarde, were the first popish recusants ; and the date of the ' 
Romanists in England, as a distinct sect or community, may 
be fixed in the year 1570. This separation was also fomented 



164 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

by priests and Jesuits, who were sent from abroad to pervert 
the people : but they did not succeed to any great extent. It 
may be here added, that, with the exception of about six years, 
when a titular bishop, sent by the pope, resided in England, 
the Romanists had no bishops till 1685. 

The same year which witnessed the separation of the Ro- 
manists, was also the commencement of the Puritan separa- 
tion. The origin of this sect, which at last acquired such 
power, may be traced to some of the exiles in the reign of 
Mary, who in foreign lands imbibed a taste for the doctrines 
and discipline of Calvin and Zuingle, and who, on their return, 
endeavoured vainly to reform the Church of England according 
to those models. When they beheld the Reformation re-estab- 
lished according to the forms adopted in the reign of King Ed- 
ward, they became dissatisfied ; and after much fruitless agita- 
tion to alter the Church, they at length began to declaim against 
her as infected with popish errors and superstitions ; and affirm- 
ing episcopacy to be anti-Christian, they separated from the 
Church and formed conventicles, about 1570. 

The Church of England continued to be defended by the 
state till the great rebellion in 1640, when the king and par- 
liament being at variance, the Puritans, and a number of other 
sects, were permitted to increase. Of these sects, the prin- 
cipal were the Brownists or Independents, and the Anabap- 
tists, which had been set on foot in England a few years be- 
fore. The parliament, under the influence of the Puritans, 
abolished episcopacy as anti-Christian, rejected the Liturgy, 
and expelled several thousands of the clergy who adhered to 
the regulations of the Church of England, intruding in their 
place Puritans and other sectarians. 

In 1660, on the restoration of King Charles II. to the 
throne of his ancestors, the Puritans were expelled, and the 
Church was delivered from persecution, and prospered ex- 
ceedingly for many years. Many learned and great men 
were now appointed to preside over the Church, and the 
various sects of separatists or dissenters diminished. James 



A.D. 1530-1839. ENGLISH CHURCH. 165 

II. attempted, by many arbitrary and illegal proceedings, to 
establish popery, which excited the indignation of his subjects 
so strongly, that he was compelled to abdicate his throne in 
1689, and William III. of Orange, and Mary, were declared 
king and queen. On the refusal of Sancroft, archbishop of 
Canterbury, and some other bishops and clergy, from con- 
scientious scruples, to take the oaths of allegiance to the new 
government, they were deprived of their sees and benefices 
by the civil power, and they, with their adherents, obtained 
the name of Non-jurors. Bishops were ordained in their 
places, and accepted by the great body of the Church of Eng- 
land ; but a warm controversy ensued, which, however, ter- 
minated in the gradual return of the Non-jurors to the 
Church. 

In 1717 a controversy arose on occasion of the writings of 
Hoadly, bishop of Bangor, in which he maintained that it 
was needless to believe any particular creed, or to be united 
to any particular Church ; and that sincerity, or our own per- 
suasion of the correctness of our opinions (whether well or 
ill founded,) is sufficient. These doctrines were evidently 
calculated to subvert the necessity of believing the articles 
of the Christian faith, and to justify all classes of schismatics 
or separatists from the Church. The convocation deemed 
these opinions so mischievous, that a committee was appoint- 
ed to select propositions from Hoadly's books, and to procure 
their censure ; but before his trial could take place, the con- 
vocation was prorogued by an arbitrary exercise of the royal 
authority, and has not been permitted to deliberate since. 
The temporal government, influenced by the schismatics, 
protected and advanced Hoadly and several persons of similar 
principles. In 1766, Archdeacon Blackburn, who was sup- 
posed to be an Arian, anonymously assailed the practice of 
subscribing the Articles ; and in 1772 a body of clergy and 
laymen petitioned Parliament to put an end to it ; but their 
request was refused. Many of these petitioners were secret 
disbelievers in some of the Christian doctrines. 



166 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXI) 

The sect of Methodists had now become numerous. It 

t^An was founded by Wesley and Whitfield, in 
about A.D. 1740. .,-*,. ~ 

the early part of this century. Originally, 

they designed only to assist the clergy in preaching to the 

poor in populous places; but they were gradually urged on to 

establish a^ect. It was not, however, till after the death of 

-i -mi Weslev that they pretended to administer the 

a.d. 1 *91. J *\ r 

sacraments in their communities, and oecame 

absolutely separated from the Church. 

The Church had been suffering much for a long time from 
appointments to its offices made from unworthy motives. 
The bishoprics, and other dignities, were bestowed by the 
ministers of the crown on men distinguished only by birth or 
connexions. Patronage, in general, was distributed on low 
and worldly considerations. Theological learning received 
no encouragement ; and active zeal was viewed with jealousy, 
as an approximation to Methodism. Prosperity had begun 
to inspire confidence, security, and sloth. The dangers of 
religion, arising from the French Revolution in 1789, which 
let loose an atheistic spirit throughout the world, stimu- 
lated the Church to renewed exertions. At the beginning 
of the present century, a great revival of religious zeal took 
place ; numerous societies for various purposes connected 
with religion were instituted, and vigorously supported, though 
not always on principles accordant with those of the Church, 
as several of them evinced too great an intimacy with Dis- 
senters. 

The aspect of the times has since contributed to stimulate 
the activity of the Church. The weakness of the temporal 
government, and the influence which parties hostile to the 
Church have for the last twenty years exercised over it, have 
taught the Church to depend less on the protection of the 
state than on the Divine blessing on a zealous discharge of 
pastoral duties, especially by the inculcation of her own 
sound principles. The violent hostility which Dissenters and 
Romanists have for some time exhibited towards the Church 



A.D. 1530-1839. IRTSH CHURCH. 167 

of England, and their avowed, though fruitless, intention and 
endeavours to destroy her, have likewise produced most salu- 
tary effects in promoting union, zeal, and attachment to her 
doctrines. 

The Churches of Ireland have been suffering severely 
from the persecution of Romanists for many years past. Let 
us now turn to the history of these Churches. I have al- 
ready noticed the early independence of the Church of Ire- 
land, which continued from the time of St. Patrick, in the 
fifth century, till the twelfth century, when a papal legate 
was appointed in Ireland, and the archbishops of Ireland for 
the first time received the pall from Rome in 1.152. This 
Church shared the fate of others : it became infected with 
the prevalent superstitions. Henry VIII.. caused the papal 
jurisdiction to be abolished in 1537 by the parliament. The 
bishops and clergy generally assented, and several reforms 
took place during this and the next reign. In the time of 
Mary, five of the bishops favourable to the Reformation were 
irregularly expelled from their sees; and the laws made 
against the pope were repealed. When Elizabeth succeeded, 
the former laws were revived, the papal power again reject- 
ed, and the royal supremacy and the English ritual again in- 
troduced. These regulations were approved by seventeen 
out of nineteen Irish bishops in the parliament of 1560, and 
by the rest of the bishops and clergy, who took the oath of 
supremacy, and remained in the possession of their benefices. 
The people also generally acquiesced, and continued to at- 
tend on divine service for several years. Two bishops only, 
out of about twenty-six, refused to acquiesce in the Reforma- 
tion, and were driven from their sees, into which they had 
been intruded in the time of Mary, while the rightful bishops 
were still living. It may be here added, that in 1615 the 
Church of Ireland framed a formulary closely resembling the 
Articles of the Church of England ; which last, however, were 
adopted as the confession of the Church of Ireland in the synod 
of Dublin, 1634, where also a body of canons was enacted. 



x68 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

The pope, of course, regarded these proceedings as highly 
sinful ; and considering the Church of Ireland as schisma- 
tical, he resolved to induce the people to separate from it. 
Accordingly, he ordained Creagh, who had shown some dili- 
gence in exhorting the people to forsake the obedience of 
their bishops and the service of the Church, to the archbi- 
shopric of Armagh, although that see was already filled by the 
legitimate primate, Loftus. Creagh, who is styled by the 
Romish historians, " the principal propagator or restorer of 
the Catholic faith in Ireland," came over and perverted some 
of the people. The pope sent some other emissaries, and, 
in conjunction with the king of Spain, to whom he had given 
the dominions of Queen Elizabeth, excited the Irish chieftains 
and people to insurrection. In consequence, Ireland became 
the scene of war for thirty years, in which the bishops, 
Jesuits, and other priests sent by the pope, took a most active 
and leading part. In this war, numbers of the ignorant and 
savage people were exposed to the arts of the popish emis- 
saries, and persuaded or forced to forsake the Church, as be- 
ing favoured by the queen. Let me mention a few facts in 
corroboration of these statements. In 1575, one of the Irish 
lords, being engaged in plotting an insurrection against his 
sovereign Queen Elizabeth, went to Philip II., king of Spain, 
on whom Pope Pius V. had conferred the dominions of the 
queen, and sought assistance from him for the Irish Roman- 
ists. He then went to Rome, where, after some time, he 
obtained from the pope a pardon for all the bands of robbers 
who then infested Italy, on condition that they should under- 
take an expedition to Ireland for the exaltation of the see of 
Rome. An army thus composed was headed by a titular 
popish bishop of Killaloe in Ireland, and by the Jesuit San- 
ders ; and they landed in Ireland not long after, bringing a 
bull from Pope Gregory XIII. , in which all who should unite 
in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth were promised a plenary 
pardon of their sins. This expedition, however, entirely 
failed : but the same titular bishop, a few years afterwards, 



A.D. 1530-1839. IRISH CHURCH. 169 

is found introducing supplies of men, money, and arms from 
Spain for the relief of the insurgents. Another schismatic, 
assuming the title of archbishop of Armagh, came with 
orders from the King of Spain that tha Irish should revolt ; 
and having excited a rebellion, he fell in battle with the royal 
troops. Ohely, called archbishop of Tuam, was sent after- 
wards, by one of the Irish chieftains, to the King of Spain, 
whom he exhorted to invade and subdue Ireland. When the 
next insurrection broke out, we find Maceogan, a titular 
bishop and vicar of the Roman pontiff, issuing an excom- 
munication against all who should give quarter to the prison- 
ers taken from the queen's army. Maceogan caused all such 
persons to be put to death in his presence ; and he himself at 
last fell in battle against the royal army, leading a troop of 
horse, with his sword in one hand, and his breviary and beads 
in the other ! 

The ignorance and superstition of the lower orders of the 
Irish at this time made them unhappily an easy prey to the 
emissaries of Rome, who came from Spain, Italy, and Flan- 
ders, and vehemently declaimed against the Churches of Eng- 
land and Ireland as heretical. Amongst the arguments used 
to delude this unhappy people, we find many lying wonders, 
visions, and miracles. It was said that on one occasion St. 
Columbkill took the form of a wolf, and carried a torch into 
the powder-magazine of a garrison of English "heretics," 
who were of course all destroyed. Another tale was, that a 
certain " heretic" converted a priest's vestment into a pair 
of trousers ; but as soon as he had drawn them on, he took 
fire and was burned to ashes. An English governor, very 
much hated by the popish party, was said to have been heard 
conversing with the devil ; presently after, an explosion was 
heard, and he was found lying frightfully distorted and in- 
sane, and soon after died. By such arguments were the Irish 
taught to hate their pastors, and to separate from their na- 
tional Church. But all would have been insufficient, if the 
country had remained in peaceable subjection to its sove- 

15 



170 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXII. 

reign ; and therefore the Popes Pius V. and Gregory XIII. 
promoted insurrections in Ireland against the royal authority ; 
and the people were compelled by their chiefs to forsake the 
communion of their legitimate bishops, and to become obe- 
dient to the usurpers whom the popes sent over to occupy their 
places. It was only by a long series of rebellions that the 
schism in Ireland was consolidated and became so widely ex- 
tended. The reign of Queen Elizabeth sufficed for this 
lamentable catastrophe. 

King James I. wisely discouraged the Roman schism, and 
forbade the residence of its bishops, priests, and Jesuits, in 
his dominions ; but under his successor, Charles I., a relaxa- 
tion of this wholesome severity encouraged the schismatics 
to insult and disturb the Church, and ultimately, in 1641, to 
massacre in cold blood a hundred and fifty thousand of its 
adherents, and to break into insurrection. 

The Church was now dreadfully persecuted by papists and 
by the English parliament; but on the return of Charles II. 
resumed its rights. Persecution was renewed under James 
II., in 1690, when the Romish party obtained power ; and in 
the rebellion of 1798. From that period, the Romish party 
has acquired great political power, and the Church has been 
almost continually persecuted, especially within the last few 
years, in which the clergy have been reduced nearly to star- 
vation; some have been murdered, and many placed in peril 
of their lives. To add to their afflictions, the government, in 
1833, suppressed ten of the bishoprics, on pretence of requir- 
ing their revenues for the support of ecclesiastical buildings ; 
although the bishops of Ireland, in a body, protested against 
such an act, and offered to pay the amount required from the 
incomes of their sees, provided that so great an injury were 
not done to the cause of religion. 

Scotland, had also become subject to the pope about the 
twelfth century ; but the Reformation was not so soon or so 
happily introduced there as in England. There is room for 
censure of both parties in that country during the sixteenth 



A.D. 1530-1839. SCOTLAND. AMERICA. 171 

century. The Romish party exercised cruelties on their op 
ponents, which led to their own downfall. The reformed 
headed by Knox, were turbulent and irregular in their pro 
feedings. They at first adopted a temporary i~fO 

church government, which resembled the epis- 
copal, and in 1572 agreed that bishops should be constituted 
but soon afterwards, under the influence of Mel- 1 ~ ftn 

ville, who had imbibed a taste for the Genevan 
discipline, they rejected episcopacy, and established pres 
byterianism. In the beginning of the following century 
these disorders ceased ; and in 1612 the Church of Scotland 
was provided with lawful bishops and pastors, who were con 
secrated in England. 

In 1638 the presbyterian party again became predominant 
and took an oath or covenant to exterminate episcopal gov. 
ernment. When Charles II. was restored, the ^aan 

A.D. IboO 

Church again was protected by the state, and 
bishops were consecrated in England for all the vacant sees 
A party of Covenanters, however, separated from the 
Church, esteeming episcopacy anti-Christian, and set up con 
venticles ; and the Scottish bishops having scrupled to take 
the oaths of allegiance to King William, this monarch caused 
the bishops to be expelled from their sees, and ifiqn 

episcopacy to be abolished by act of parliament ; 
and recognised the sectarians as the established Church. 
From this time the bishops, and the rest of the Scottish 
Church, were most sorely and cruelly persecuted by the 
Presbyterians, till 1788, when the penal laws were repeal- 
ed ; but during this period they had been much reduced in 
numbers. 

A flourishing branch of the Catholic Church, derived from 
England, exists in America. When Virginia, and other 
provinces of North America, were settled by the English, 
early in the seventeenth century, the Church took root there, 
and for a long time was supported by the Society for Propa- 
gating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Efforts were often made 



172 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIIx. 

to obtain bishops for America, but they failed through the in- 
fluence exerted by sectaries over the government. At 
length, after the United States had been declared independ- 
1 >~S4 ent > ^ r# Seabury was ordained bishop of Con- 
necticut, by the primus and bishops of Scot- 
land ; and other prelates were ordained for America, in Eng- 
land, in 1787 and 1790.* The American Church is now 
governed by twenty bishops, and is rapidly increasing. Bish- 
ops have also been consecrated for many of the British pos- 
sessions in India, North America, and the West Indies ; and 
the limits of those Churches are continually enlarging. 
Many of the heathen have been converted in India and North 
America. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



FRUITS OF FAITH IN THE BRITISH CHURCHES. 

a.d. 1530-1839. 

Amongst that noble army of martyrs, who in the sixteenth 
century contended even to death for Christian truth, against 
Romish errors and superstitions, none merits a more con- 
spicuous place than Nicholas Ridley, bishop of London. 
He was born in Northumberland, in the beginning of the 
sixteenth century, and studied at the University of Cambridge, 
where he was distinguished for learning and piety. He after- 
wards pursued his studies in theology at Paris and Louvain ; 
and returning back again, was senior proctor of the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge in 1533, when the decree was made by 

*[The Romish episcopacy was introduced into the United States in I7S9. 
The Methodists in America have a spurious episcopacy, derived from the 
pretended ordination of Dr. Thomas Coke, a presbyter, by John Wesley, 
another presbyter, in 1784. The United Brethren have also bishops residing 
in America. — Am. Ed.] 



A.D. 1530-1839. BISHOP RIDLEY. 173 

that university, as well as by all the Church of England, 
" that the bishop of Rome has not, by the word of God, any 
jurisdiction in this realm." He also became a celebrated 
preacher, and was remarkable for his knowledge of Scrip- 
ture and the fathers; so that in 1537 Thomas Cranmer, 
archbishop of Canterbury, appointed him one of his chap- 
lains, and associated him with his family. Soon after, being 
made vicar of Heme, he diligently instructed his flock in the 
doctrines of the Gospel, and his preaching attracted multi- 
tudes of people from all the surrounding country. In 1540 
he was elected master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, where 
he had been educated, and where he had been a most diligent 
student of the Scriptures, as we may collect from the follow- 
ing words of his Farewell ; where, apostrophising his college, 
he says, " In thy orchard (the walls, butts, and trees, if they 
could speak, would bear me witness,) I learned without book 
almost all Paul's epistles, and the canonical epistles too, save 
only the Apocalypse : of which study, although in time a 
great part did depart from me, yet the sweet smell thereof, I 
trust, I shall carry with me into heaven ; for the profit there- 
of I think I have felt in all my life-time ever after." 

About 1545 Ridley, by reading the book of Bertram,* a 
presbyter of the ninth century, was induced to forsake the 
erroneous opinion of transubstantiation ; and he was instru- 
mental in bringing Archbishop Cranmer and Bishop Latimer 
to the same mind. In 1547 he was consecrated bishop of 
Rochester, and was most zealous in promoting the reformation 
of abuses ; but he evinced great firmness in resisting such mea- 
sures as he judged injurious to the cause of justice or religion. 
When he was appointed, without his knowledge, on a royal 
commission, for the suppression of Clare Hall at Cambridge, 
and found, on examination, that this society would not dis- 
solve itself, he wrote to the lord protector, declaring that his 
conscience would not permit him to act further in the com- * 
mission ; and thus incurred the risk of offending most griev- 

* [Or Ratramn. — Am. Ed.] 
15* 



174 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

ously the chief ruler of England. Such resolution was an 
earnest of that firmness and piety with which he afterwards 
faced death for his conscience towards God. 

On the deposal of Bonner for contumacy, Ridley was in- 
stalled bishop of London in his place. In this high station 
he behaved with great dignity, benevolence, mildness, and 
goodness. He was of a mortified spirit, given to prayer and 
contemplation, and useful and instructive to all his family. 
His day was divided between private prayers; family devo- 
tions, in which he every day gave a lecture on the New Tes- 
tament, beginning with the Acts of the Apostles, and giving 
to every one who could read a copy of the Scriptures ; the 
despatch of business; study in his private chamber; and 
useful discourse. He applied himself with all his power to 
reform the abuses in the disposal of Church patronage by the 
crown, and others which arose from a spirit of covetousness. 
Beholding with grief the distress of the poor in his city, who, 
in consequence of the suppression of monasteries, from which 
they had received much alms, were reduced to a state of sad 
destitution, he supplicated the king for a gift of the royal 
house at Bridewell as lodgings for these afflicted people, and 
succeeded in his application. 

When that most pious young king, Edward VI., was af- 
flicted with his last illness, Bishop Ridley was appointed to 
preach before him one day ; and in his sermon much recom- 
mended charity as a duty incumbent on all men, but especial- 
ly on those who are in high place and dignity, as well in 
respect to their great abilities, as because they were bound 
to give examples of goodness to others. The same day, the 
king sent for him, caused him to sit in a chair beside him, and 
would not permit him to remain uncovered. Then, after 
courteous thanks, he recapitulated the principal points of the 
sermon, and continued thus : " I took myself to be especially 
touched by your sermon, as well in regard to the abilities 
which God hath given me, as in regard of the example which 
of me he will require. For as in the kingdom I am next un- 



A.D. 1530-1839. BISHOP RIDLEY. 175 

der God, so must I most nearly approach him in goodness 
and mercy : for as our miseries stand most in need of help 
from him, so are we the greatest debtors, debtors to all that 
are miserable, and shall be the greatest accountants of our 
dispensation therein. And therefore, my lord, as you have 
given me (I thank you) this general exhortation, so direct me, 
I entreat you, by what particular actions I may this way best 
discharge my duties." The bishop remained silent for some 
time ; and then weeping for joy, he besought his majesty for 
time to answer such a question ; and having consulted the 
citizens of London, he returned again to the king, who gave 
the Grey-friars as an hospital for the support of infants, the 
aged, idiots, and cripples ; St. Bartholomew's for wounded 
soldiers and sick persons ; and Bridewell for the correction 
of idle and disorderly persons. These, with the hospital of St. 
Thomas, he richly endowed ; and when he had signed the 
instrument to that effect, he, with reverent gesture and 
speech, thanked God for prolonging his life to finish that 
business. 

Ridley's days of peace were now at an end. On the ac- 
cession of the persecutor Mary, he was expelled from his 
bishopric, and committed to the Tower, where he spent his 
time in pious exercises and conference with his fellow prison- 
ers, exhorting them to remain steadfast in maintaining the 
truth. " Resist the devil," he said, " and he will flee from 
you. Let us, therefore, resist him manfully; and, taking 
the cross upon our shoulders, let us follow our Captain Christ, 
who, by his own blood, hath dedicated and hallowed the way 
which leadeth unto the Father, that is, to the light which no 
man can attain, — the fountain of everlasting joys. Let us 
follow, I say, whither he calleth and allureth us, that after all 
these afflictions — which last but for a moment — whereby he 
trieth our faith as gold by the fire, we may everlastingly 
reign and triumph with him in the glory of his Father ; and 
that through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with 
the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour- and glory now 



176 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXITI. 

and for ever. Amen. Amen." Such were the resolutions 
and the hopes of this venerable martyr in the contemplation 
of the sufferings which were preparing for him. His con- 
stancy was unshaken by any terrors, or by the instances of 
weakness which surrounded him. One of his own chaplains 
who then fell away, wrote to Ridley with a view to shake his 
resolution, and induce him to conform to the Romish errors. 
His reply affords a noble example of Christian faith and of 
apostolical admonition. " Sir, how nigh the day of my dis- 
solution and departure out of this world is at hand, I cannot 
tell: the Lord's will be fulfilled, how soon soever it shall 
come. I know the Lord's words must be verified in me, 
that I shall appear before the incorrupt Judge, and be ac- 
countable to him for all my former life. And although the 
hope of his mercy is my sheet-anchor of eternal salvation, 
yet am I persuaded that whosoever wittingly neglecteth, and 
regardeth not to clear his conscience, he cannot have peace 
with God, nor a lively faith in his mercy. Conscience, there- 
fore, moveth me, considering you were one of my family and 
one of my household, of whom then I think I had a special 
care ; but, alas, now when the trial doth separate the chaff 
from the corn, how small a deal it is, God knoweth, which 
the wind doth not blow away ; — this conscience, I say, doth 
move me to fear lest the lightness of my family should be laid 
to my charge, for lack of more earnest and diligent instruc- 
tion which should have been done. But blessed be God, 
which hath given me grace to see this my default, and to la- 
ment from the bottom of my heart before my departing hence. 
This conscience doth move me also now to require both you 
and my friend Dr. Harvey to remember your promises made 
to me in times past, of the pure setting forth and preaching 
of God's word and his truth. These promises, although you 
shall not need to fear to be charged with them of me hereaf- 
ter before the world, yet look for none other (I exhort you as 
my friends) but to be charged with them at God's hand. 
This conscience, and the love that I bear unto you, biddeth 



A.D. 1530-1839. BISHOP RIDLEY. 177 

me now say unto you both, in God's name, ' Fear God, and 
love not the world;' for God is able to cast both body and 
soul into hell fire ; 'when his wrath shall suddenly be kindled, 
blessed are all they that put their trust in him.' And the saying 
of St. John is true, ' All that is in the world, as the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, 
but of the world ; and the world passeth away, and the lust 
thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abidethfor ever.'" 
This admonition, so calm, so solemn, so affecting, produced 
such a powerful effect on the unhappy person to whom it was 
addressed, that he pined away with grief and remorse, and 
soon after died. 

Ridley had been removed to Oxford, with his venerable 
fellow-prisoners Bishops Cranmer and Latimer, before he 
wrote this letter. In 1555 he and Latimer were examined 
by the papal delegates ; and on their refusal to submit to the 
pope, were degraded from their orders ; Ridley steadily re- 
fusing to move his cap, or show the least sign of submission 
or reverence to the usurped authority of the papal delegates. 
He, with Latimer, was then delivered to the temporal magis- 
trates to be burned to death. The evening before his mar- 
tyrdom, Ridley prepared himself for his. departure with joy 
and triumph. He washed himself, and invited his friends 
and relations to be present at his " marriage" in the morn- 
ing. His discourse melted into tears one of his most ob- 
durate enemies who was present. Ridley said, " You love 
me not now, I see well enough; for in that you weep, it 
doth appear you will not be at my marriage, neither be con- 
tent therewith. But quiet yourself; though my breakfast 
shall be somewhat sharp and painful, yet I am sure my sup- 
per shall be more pleasant and sweet." 

In the morning, he approached the place of execution ar- 
rayed in a handsome black gown; and as he passed the 
prison of Bocardo, he looked to the chamber where Arch- 
bishop Cranmer was imprisoned, hoping to have seen and 
spoken to him ; but he was engaged in disputing with Friar Soto 



178 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

and others : but shortly behind him he saw and spoke to Lati- 
mer, who came clad in his shroud to be ready for the fire . 
When they came to the spot, he ran to Latimer, with a joyful 
countenance, embraced and kissed him, and comforted him, 
saying, " Be of good heart, brother ; for God will either 
assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide 
it." Then turning to the stake, he kissed it, and kneeling 
down, prayed earnestly, as did Latimer likewise. Then 
rising, they conferred together for a little while. Dr. Smith 
preached the sermon usual on such occasions, to which the 
martyrs besought permission to reply ; but were informed, that 
unless they recanted, they should not speak. " Well," re- 
plied the illustrious martyr, " so long as the breath is in my 
body, I will never deny my Lord Christ and his known truth ; 
God's will be done in me." He then said, with a loud voice, 
" I commit my. cause to Almighty God, who will judge all in- 
differently." 

They were then ordered to make ready for burning, which 
they mildly obeyed. Ridley gave away several small things 
to persons standing by, many of whom were weeping. Lati- 
mer now stood in his shroud ; and he who before, in an old 
coat and cap, seemed a withered and crooked old man, now 
roused to play the man, stood upright, and appeared a venera- 
ble and comely person. Ridley, standing in his shirt at the 
stake, lifted up his hands toward heaven, and prayed, " O 
heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks, for 
that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee even unto 
death. I beseech thee, Lord God, take mercy upon the realm . 
of England, and deliver the same from all her enemies." 
Then the smith fastened an iron chain round the bodies of 
both the martyrs, tying them to the stake. A faggot was now 
lighted and laid at Ridley's feet, when Latimer said, " Be of 
good comfort, master Ridley, and play the man. We shall 
this day light such a candle by God's grace m England, as, I 
trust, shall never be put out." When Ridley saw the fire 
flaming towards him, he cried with an exceeding loud voice, 



a.d. 1530-1839. hooker. 179 

" Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ; O Lord, re- 
ceive my spirit. " Latimer, on the other side, exclaimed, 
" O Father of heaven, receive my soul.' 5 Then he received 
the flame as if he were embracing it, and soon died, with but 
little appearance of pain. 

But Ridley had to undergo dreadful and lingering tortures ; 
for the fire on his side was so smothered by the quantity of 
faggots, that his legs were slowly consumed, while he cried 
to his tormentors to " let the fire come at him." But in all 
his agony, he still called on God, " Lord, have mercy upon 
me." At length the faggots were removed by one of the 
by-standers; and when the tortured martyr saw the fire 
flaming up, he wrenched himself to that side. And when the 
flame reached a bag of gunpowder which hung round his 
neck, he was seen to stir no more, but burned on the other 
side ; and either from the chain loosing, or by the overpoise 
of his body after his legs were consumed, he fell over the 
chain down at Latimer's feet. 

Thus died this illustrious martyr — or rather, thus did 
he enter eternal life ; and it may be said with truth, that 
never, since the days of the apostles, was there a nobler mani- 
festation of Christian faith and heroism. It was worthy of 
the brightest days of the primitive church ; and not even 
Poly carp, in the amphitheatre of Smyrna, exceeded the glory 
of Nicholas Ridley. 

Let us now pass to days when the righteous were no 
longer persecuted, and learning and piety were exposed to 
none but the ordinary trials. 

Richard Hooker (usually called "judicious Hooker") 
was born near Exeter, about 1553, df parents remarkable for 
virtue and industry. Prom his childhood he was grave, de- 
sirous of learning ; modest, and of so sweet and serene a 
quietness and meekness of nature, that many believed him to 
have an inward and blessed divine light. The seeds of sin- 
cere piety which his parents early instilled into his mind 
were so continually watered with the dews of God's bles- 



180 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

sed Spirit, that his infant virtues grew into such holy habits, 
as made him daily more in favour both with God and man. 

About 1567, when Dr. Jewel, that celebrated opponent of 
Romish errors, was bishop of Salisbury, the parents of Hooker 
being unable to defray the expense of an university educa- 
tion for their son, this learned bishop, being made acquainted 
with the circumstance, and having examined and observed the 
boy's knowledge and behaviour, procured for him a mainte- 
nance at Corpus Christi College, in the University of Oxford. 
Here he continued for several years, still increasing in learn- 
ing and prudence, and so much in humility and piety, that he 
seemed to be filled with the Holy Ghost. In 1571 he expe- 
rienced the loss of his kind friend and patron, Bishop Jewel, 
who died, as he had lived, in devout meditation and prayer ; 
but soon after, Edwin Sandys, bishop of London, who had 
heard from Jewel of Hooker's great merits and learning, 
placed his son under his tuition. While Hooker was a stu- 
dent in the university, so great was his devotion, that in four 
years he was but twice absent from the chapel -prayers. His 
behaviour there was such as showed an awful reverence of 
that God whom he there worship ed, giving all outward tes- 
timonies that his affections were set on heavenly things. 
He was never known to be angry, passionate, or extreme in 
his desires; never heard to repine or dispute with Provi- 
dence ; but by a quiet, gentle submission of his will to the 
wisdom of his Creator, bore the burden of the day with pa- 
tience. He was never heard to utter an uncomely word ; 
and by this, and his grave behaviour, he caused a reverence 
towards his person even from those that elsewhere cast off all 
strictness of behaviour. In 1577 he became a fellow of his 
college ; and two years after was appointed by the chancellor 
of the university to read the Hebrew lecture. In 1584 he 
was appointed to the parsonage of Drayton Beauchamp, in 
Buckinghamshire ; and in the next year, through the recom- 
mendation of his friend Sandys, archbishop of York, was made 
master of the Temple in London. 



A.D. 1530-1839. HOOKER. 181 

At this time the Church had been for some years exceed- 
ingly troubled by the schismatical proceedings of the Puri- 
tans, who declaimed against all her rites and ceremonies as 
popish and anti-Christian. Of this party was one Travers, 
who had been irregularly ordained abroad by some persons 
who were not of the degree of bishops, and who now minis- 
tered as lecturer of the Temple, though the law of the Eng- 
lish Church prohibited such persons from acting as ministers. 
Travers, who had himself aspired to be master of the Tem- 
ple, opposed Hooker's doctrines in the pulpit, and afterwards 
petitioned the privy council, charging him with many errors, 
especially for his charitable opinion, that many of our fore- 
fathers, who lived in the times of superstition, were saved ; 
but Archbishop Whitgift, whom Queen 158^1604 

Elizabeth intrusted with the entire man- 
agement of ecclesiastical affairs, had such good testimonies 
of Hooker's principles, learning, and moderation, that all so- 
licitations against him were of no effect. 

Though Travers was obliged to leave the Temple, he had 
several supporters there, who rendered Hooker's position very 
uneasy. To bring them to a better mind, he resolved to write 
his celebrated books on the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity ; 
and finding that his situation did not afford sufficient leisure, 
he left it for the parish of Boscum, near Salisbury, where the 
first four books were written, and made public in 1594. 
Another book was published in 1597. It is recorded that 
when a part of this celebrated work had been translated for 
the pope, he said, " There is no learning that this man hath not 
searched into ; nothing too hard for his understanding:. This 
man indeed deserves the flame of an author : his books wm 
get reverence by age, for there are in them such seeds of eter- 
nity, that if the rest be like this, they shall last till the last fire 
shall consume all learning." 

In 1595 he was appointed to the vicarage of Bishopsborne, 
in Kent, in which place he continued his customary rules of 
mortification and self-denial, fasted often, was frequent in 

16 



182 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. 2XII1. 

meditation and prayer, enjoying those blessed returns which 
only such men feel and know. Before long, his writings, and 
the innocency and sanctity of his life, became so remarkable, 
that many persons came from all parts to see him. His habit 
was usually coarse and mean; his appearance lowly, and 
accordant with the humility of his soul ; his body was wast- 
ed, not with age, but with study and holy mortifications. He 
here forsook all the pleasures and allurements of the world, 
possessing his soul in a virtuous quietness, which he main- 
tained by constant study, prayer, and meditation. He preach- 
ed every Sunday morning, and in the evening catechised his 
parishioners. His sermons were not long, but delivered with 
a grave zeal ; they were addressed to the reason, and abound- 
ed in apt illustrations. He fasted strictly in Ember- week, 
when he usually retired into the church for many hours, and 
did the same on most Fridays and other days of fasting. He 
was most diligent in visiting the sick, exhorting them to con- 
fession of their sins and repentance. 

While Hooker was thus engaged in all the exercises of 
piety, and was also preparing the last books of his Ecclesias- 
tical Polity, he fell into a long and sharp illness, and began 
to fail. A few days before his death, the pious Dr. Saravia, 
prebendary of Canterbury, who knew the very secrets of his 
soul, (for they were supposed to confess their sins to each 
other,) came to him, and after a conference on the safety and 
benefit of the Church's absolution, it was resolved that Sara- 
via should administer that and the holy eucharist the follow- 
ing day. When the time came, they retired for a short while 
irom the company, and then returned, when Hooker received 
the blessed sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; 
which being performed, Saravia thought he saw a reverend 
gaiety and joy in his face ; but it lasted not long, for his bodily 
infirmities returned with violence. The next day he found 
Hooker better in appearance, but deep in contemplation, and 
not inclined to converse. When he was asked the subject of 
his thoughts, he replied, " that he was meditating the number 



A.D. 1530-1839. FERRAR. 183 

and nature of angels, and their blessed obedience and order, 
without which peace could not be in heaven ; and O that it 
might be so on earth!" After which he said, "I have lived 
to see this world is made up of perturbations, and I have been 
long preparing to leave it, and gathering comfort for the 
dreadful hour of making my account with God, which I now 
apprehend to be near ; and though I have, by his grace, loved 
him in my youth, and feared him in my age, and laboured to 
have a conscience void of offence to him and to all men, yet 
if thou, Lord, be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, 
who can abide it ? And therefore, where I have failed, Lord, 
show mercy unto me ; for I plead not my righteousness, but 
the forgiveness of my unrighteousness, for His merits who 
died to purchase pardon for penitent sinners ; and since I owe 
thee a death, Lord, let it not be terrible, and then take thine 
own time, I submit to it : let not mine, O Lord, but let thy 
will be done." He then fell into a dangerous slumber, and 
awaking once more said, " God hath heard my daily peti- 
tions, for I am at peace with all men, and he is at peace with 
me ; and from that blessed assurance I feel that inward joy 
which this world can neither give nor take from me ; my con- 
science beareth me this witness, and this witness makes the 
thoughts of death joyful. I could wish to live to do the 
Church more service, but cannot hope it; for my days are 

past as a shadow that returns not." Thus speak- i,-.™ 

f . a.d. 1600. 

ing, his spirit failed, and the holy man slept in 

Jesus Christ. 

Nicholas Ferrar, a holy deacon of the Church, was de- 
scended from an ancient and noble family, and was born in 
London in 1592. His parents educated him in the paths of 
piety and virtue, and his progress in learning was rapid. His 
disposition was grave, and he early showed a dislike of any 
thing that savoured of worldly vanity. In his apparel he 
wished to be neat, but refused any thing that was not simple 
and plain. He was good-natured and tender-hearted in the 
highest degree, and so fearful of offending any one, that he 



184 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 



would weep abundantly on the least apprehension of having 
done so. In his fourteenth year he went to study at the 
University of Cambridge, and was eminently distinguished 
there by his abilities and learning ; so that his tutor used to 
say of him, " May God keep him in a right mind ! for if he 
should turn schismatic or heretic, he would make work for all 
the world." 

His health becoming much impaired, he was advised to 
travel, and in 1612 went abroad in the train of the Princess 
Elizabeth and the Palsgrave. He then studied at the Univer- 
sities of Leipsic and Padua. After visiting Rome and many 
parts of the continent, he returned to England in 1618; and 
soon after became actively engaged in the affairs of a great 
company for colonising Virginia in America, of*which he 
was chosen deputy-governor ; and in this situation he dis- 
played the greatest ability in defending the company from the 
intrigues of Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador. While he 
was thus engaged, the excellence of his conduct induced an 
opulent merchant of London to offer him in marriage his 
only daughter, a young lady of great beauty and accomplish- 
ments, with a large fortune : but Ferrar replied with many 
thanks, declining so honourable an offer; " for if God," said 
he, " will give me grace to keep a resolution long since form- 
ed, I have determined to lead a single life ; and after having 
discharged to the best of my ability my duty to the com- 
pany and to my family as to worldly concerns, I seriously 
purpose to devote myself to God, and to go into a religious 
retirement." 

On the dissolution of the Virginia company, he was elect- 
ed a member of parliament, where he was highly distinguish- 
ed for eloquence and ability, and was appointed to draw up 
the charge against the Earl of Middlesex, lord treasurer, for 
his conduct in the affairs of the Virginia company. Nicholas 
Ferrar was now at leisure to carry into execution his plan 
of a religious life. He accordingly retired to Little Gidding, 
in Huntingdonshire, accompanied by his mother and breth- 



A.D. 1530-1839. FERRAR. 185 

ren, whom he had persuaded to follow his example, and several 
friends, to the number altogether of near forty. He was now 
twenty-seven years of age ; and in order to carry on his re- 
ligious plans by his own personal assistance, he resolved to 
become a deacon. This wish was communicated by a friend 
to Laud, bishop of St. David's, afterwards archbishop of Can- 
terbury, who ordained him a deacon in 1626 ; after which he 
signed a vow, that since God had so often heard his most hum- 
ble petitions, and delivered him out of many dangers, and in 
many desperate calamities had extended his mercy to him, he 
would therefore now give himself up continually to serve 
God to the utmost of his power in the office of a deacon, into 
which office he had that morning been regularly ordained ; 
that he had long ago seen enough of the manners and of the 
vanities of the world, and that he did hold them all in so low 
esteem, that he was resolved to spend the remainder of his 
life in mortifications, in devotion and charity, and in a con- 
stant preparation for death. 

Some high nobles at court, who knew his virtues, hearing 
that he had been ordained, immediately offered him some ec- 
clesiastical benefices of great value ; but these he refused 
with steadiness and humility, saying that he did not think 
himself worthy. He added, that his fixed determination was 
to rise no higher in the Ghurch than the place and office 
which he now possessed, and which he had undertaken only 
with the view to be legally authorised to give spiritual as- 
sistance, according to his abilities, to his family and others 
with whom he might be concerned ; that as to temporal af- 
fairs, he had now parted with all his worldly estate, and di- 
vided it amongst his family ; that he earnestly besought his 
honoured friends to accept his sincere thanks for their good 
opinion of him, for whose prosperity, both in this world and 
a better, he would never cease to pray. 

The parish church, which was close to the manor-house of 
Gidding, had fallen into decay, and divine service had been 
discontinued in consequence of the depopulation of the par- 

16* 



186 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

ish; it was now repaired and beautified at the expense of 
Ferrar's mother, a pious and holy woman. The house itself 
was very large, and Ferrar allotted one room as an oratory 
for the devotions of the whole family, besides two separate 
oratories for the men and women at night. His own lodg- 
ings were so contrived, that he could conveniently see that 
every thing was conducted with decency and order. He 
established a school close to the house, and provided masters 
for the free instruction of all the children who came from the 
neighbouring towns. He was very diligent in catechising 
the children of the neighbourhood, and caused them to learn 
the Psalter by heart. Every Sunday, after morning service, 
these children, more than one hundred in number, were hos- 
pitably entertained by the religious society at Gidding. 
Whilst dinner was serving, they sang a hymn to the organ ; 
then grace was said by the clergyman of the parish; and 
during dinner a chapter in the Bible, together with some his- 
tories of the saints and martyrs, were read. After evening 
service, all the society went into their oratory, when select 
portions of the Psalms were repeated. After this, they were 
at liberty till eight o'clock, when the bell again summoned 
them to the oratory, where they sang a hymn to the organ 
and went to prayers ; and then all retired to their private 
apartments. On the first Sunday in every month they re- 
ceived the holy communion. 

On week-days they rose at four in the morning ; at five 
went to prayers in the oratory ; at six said the Psalms of the 
hour, — for every hour had its appointed Psalm, with some 
portion of the Gospel ; then they sang a hymn, repeated 
some passages of Scripture, and at half-past six went to 
church to matins. At seven they said the Psalms of the hour, 
sang a hymn, and went to breakfast. At ten they went to 
church to litany; at eleven to dinner, during which Scripture 
and pious books were read aloud. They went to evening 
prayers in the church at four ; after which came supper and 
recreations till eight, at which time they prayed in their ora- 



A.D. 1530-1839. FERRAR. 187 

tory. During the night there was a continual vigil or 
watching, in which several of the men and women, in their 
respective oratories, repeated the whole Psalter, together with 
prayers for the life of the king and his sons, from nine at 
night till one in the morning. The time of this watch being 
ended, they awoke Nicholas Ferrar, who constantly rose at 
one o'clock, and betook himself to religious meditation, ac- 
cording to these words, " At midnight will I rise and give 
thanks." Ferrar himself lay upon a skin stretched on the 
floor, arrayed in a loose frieze gown ; and he watched in the 
oratory or the church three nights in the week. Several 
religious persons, both from the neighbourhood and from 
distant parts of the country, attended these vigils, and prac- 
tised them elsewhere. The leisure hours of this holy society 
were devoted to the instruction of the poor, the dispensation 
of alms and medicines to the sick, and the composition of a 
harmony of the Gospels. Ferrar himself wrote several 
valuable religious treatises, and compiled lives of saints. 

In 1631, Dr. Williams, bishop of Lincoln, the diocesan, 
came to visit Ferrar, when he had an opportunity of seeing 
his way of serving God, and of examining the rules for 
watching, fasting, praying, psalmody, readings, almsgiving, 
and all other points established in this society ; all of which 
he highly approved, and bade them in God's name to proceed. 
Some years after, he again visited Gidding ; and, to honour 
the society, gave notice that he would preach in their church, 
where an immense multitude of people assembled to hear 
him. In his sermon he enlarged most on what it was to 
" die unto the world :" all tended to approve the dutiful and 
severe life of the Ferrars, and of the Church that was in their 
house. 

King Charles I. held Nicholas Ferrar in great reverence, 
and came more than once to visit this religious society ; and 
having perused the Harmony of the Gospels which they had 
compiled, he was so much pleased with it, that he requested 
them to prepare a copy for his own peculiar use. 



188 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

In 1637 the strength of Ferrar began rapidly to fail ; but 
he experienced no bodily pain. He conversed with his 
friends, exhorting them to persevere in the way he had point- 
ed out to them ; and after expressing his conviction that sad 
times were coming on the Church, and lamenting the suffer- 
ings which they would have to endure, he received -the holy 
cucharjst; and as the clock struck one at night, the hour at 
which for so many years he had constantly risen to worship 
God, he departed this life in a rapturous ecstacy of devotion. 
The society over which he had presided was persecuted and 
dispersed during the great rebellion, which shortly afterwards 
broke out, and in which the King and the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, the friends of this holy man, were put to death by the 
Presbyterians and Independents. 

Henry Hammond was born in 1605, at Chertsey in Surrey ; 
and was so early blessed with the grace of piety, that, even 
while he was a boy at Eton, he would retire from his play- 
fellows into places of privacy to pray to God. He was re- 
markable for sweetness of disposition, and early proficiency 
in learning ; so that, when only thirteen years of age, he 
was sent to the University of Oxford, where he became a fel- 
low of Magdalen College, and studied thirteen hours a day. 
In a few years he had read most of the classic writers, 
fathers, councils, and schoolmen, besides the holy Scriptures. 
In 1629 he was elevated to the holy order of priesthood ; and 
in 1633 he was appointed rector of Penshurst in Kent. He 
now devoted himself to his parochial duties, preaching di- 
ligently, offering up the daily sacrifice of prayer for his peo- 
ple, administering the sacraments, relieving the poor, keeping 
hospitality, reconciling differences among neighbours, visit- 
ing the sick, and catechising youth. He was also frequently 
called to preach at Paul's Cross in London; was a member 
of convocation, archdeacon of Chichester ; and was engaged 
in every holy and good work of his ministry, when the rebel- 
• fi4 o lion broke out; and an attempt having been 
made in favour of the king in that neighbour- 



A.D. 1530-1839. HAMMOND. 189 

hood, which Hammond was supposed to have encouraged, he 
was obliged to escape to Oxford, where he lay concealed for 
some time, and wrote many excellent works in defence of 
true religion and the discipline of the Church, against the 
heresies and schisms then so prevalent. He afterwards dis- 
puted publicly against the sectarians, and was made canon 
of Christ Church, and chaplain to his majesty King Charles 
I. Hammond attended the king during his imprisonment 
until 1647, when all his majesty's attendants were removed 
from about his person. After this Hammond was himself 
cast into prison by the Parliamentarians, where he commenced 
his Commentary on the New Testament, and his famous work 
in Defence of Episcopacy against BlondeL 

He was never married, though he had some intentions of 
entering into that state ; but was deterred by the aspect of 
the times, and by recollecting the apostle's advice (1 Cor. 
vii. 26.) His habits of chastity and modesty at all times 
were remarkable. His self-denial was so great, that he sel- 
dom eat more than once in twenty-four hours. He was per- 
fectly indifferent as to the quality of his food. In sleep he 
was so temperate that he rarely slept more than four or five 
hours in the night. He was never idle, but always engaged 
in something useful. In devotion he has rarely been exceed- 
ed : besides occasional and supernumerary addresses, his cer- 
tain perpetual returns of prayer exceeded David's "seven 
times a day;" and even the night was not without its office, 
the fifty-first Psalm being his designed midnight entertain- 
ment. In his prayers, his attention was not only fixed and 
steady, but his fervour was so great, that frequently his trans- 
port threw him prostrate upon the earth. His tears also 
would interrupt his words ; and this not merely in his private 
prayers, but in the common service of the Church. So great 
was his spirit of forgiveness, that, having been most cruelly 
and maliciously treated by some persons, he had a peculiar 
daily prayer purposely for them. From his friends he par- 
ticularly sought to learn his faults and offences, and even his 



190 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

failings in discretion and wisdom. His alms, even when he 
was reduced to the greatest distress, were very abundant. 
He not only sought for the neighbouring poor, but assisted 
students at the universities, and the clergy who had been ex- 
pelled from their parishes, or driven into exile, by the sectaries. 
Though he was very unwilling to be interrupted in his studies 
by any concerns of his own, he never kept any one waiting, 
but would immediately come to any visitor, more especially 
when he was informed that a poor man wished to speak to 
him. 

After he was released from prison, he retired to Worces- 
tershire, where he continued his labours in the cause of re- 

inn* ligion; and, when Kins Charles II. wa- restored 
a.d. 1660. & ' ' & 

to the throne of his ancestors, Hammjnd was 

designed to fill the vacant see of Worcester ; but as he was 
on his way to London, he was seized with illness, and rfter suf- 
fering dreadful pains with all the patience, submission, ind piety 
which might have been expected from so holy and useful a 
life, he departed to his eternal reward in the fifty-fifth year of 
his age. 

Thomas Wilson, bishop of Sodor and Man, was born in 
Cheshire, in 1663, and educated at the University of Dublin, 
where he intended to practise medicine, but was persuaded 
by a pious archdeacon to undertake the sacred ministry. In 
1686 he was ordained deacon, and appointed to a curacy in 
Lancashire; and in 1689 he was raised to the priesthood, on 
which solemn occasion he again dedicated himself to the ser- 
vice of his Lord and Master, and formed the most solemn re- 
solutions of living more than ever to the glory of that Saviour 
" who loved him, and gave himself for him." In conformity 
with these resolutions, he discharged his sacred duties with 
indefatigable zeal; "holiness to the Lord" was inscribed on 
every part of his conduct. The lustre of such a character 
1 RQ9 cou ld not l° n g De concealed ; and he was select- 
ed by the Earl of Derby to be his chaplain, and 
the preceptor of his son. After some time, observing with 



A.D. 1530-1839. BISHOP WILSON. 191 

deep regret the embarrassed state of his patron's affairs, 
caused by habits of profusion and inattention to domestic 
economy, he felt it his duty to remonstrate with the earl on 
his conduct; and he so judiciously and wisely managed this 
delicate affair, that ere long he had the great satisfaction of 
seeing his noble friend relieved from his embarrassments, and 
a train of distressed tradesmen and dependents effectually 
relieved. 

The bishopric of Sodor and Man had been vacant from the 
year 1693, and Lord Derby, to whom the appointment be- 
longed as lord of the Isle of Man, offered it to his chaplain. 
He thankfully acknowledged the honour intended him, but 
declared himself unworthy of so high an office, and incapa- 
ble of so arduous an undertaking ; and it was only after the 
see had been vacant for four years, and the metropolitan had 
complained to the king on the subject, that Wilson was at last 
"forced into the see." He was consecrated in 1697. Bishop 
Wilson now devoted himself most zealously to the duties of 
the episcopate. He felt that he had been called by Divine 
appointment to this arduous station, and was persuaded that 
every necessary help would be afforded him. He was fre- 
quent in prayer, and thence derived the skill and grace 
which appeared in his ministry. His life, indeed, was a life 
of prayer. By his frequent intercourse with Heaven, he be- 
came heavenly in his temper, his views, and his whole con- 
versation. 

The temporal and spiritual state of his diocese called for 
most vigorous exertions. He was obliged to rebuild the epis- 
copal mansion, which had fallen into decay, and to effect 
many other expensive repairs. He lamented that this forcsd 
him in some degree to intermit his charity to the poor. His 
attention was directed to whatever could in any degree pro- 
mote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the country. He 
was seen in every quarter of his diocese, counselling, guid- 
ing, and directing. His charity was always most abundant. 
When he possessed, early in life, only 30Z. per annum, he de- 



192 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

voted one tenth of this income to the poor. As his income 
gradually increased, a greater share was distributed in alms. 
He always laid aside the proportion destined for the poor in 
a certain place. In this treasury, which he named "the 
poor's drawer," was deposited at first a tenth, then a fifth, 
afterwards a third, and at last half his income. Every 
deposit there was converted into an act both of charity and 
devotion ; prayers and alms were incessantly united. At his 
house every kind of distress found relief. Whether the hungry 
or the naked applied, their claims were certain to be duly 
considered and liberally answered. In his barn was always 
a provision of corn and meal for the indigent; and the good 
bishop gave orders to his steward when corn was measured 
to the poor never to stroke it, as was usual, but to give heaped 
measure. His demesne contained several manufactories of 
different sorts, where artisans were engaged in preparing gar- 
ments for the poor. The bishop attended even to the small- 
est circumstances which could benefit his people. He would 
purchase quantities of spectacles, and distribute them amongst 
the aged poor, that they might be enabled to read their Bibles. 
Bishop Wilson was unwearied in his endeavours to im- 
prove the parochial schools. He was a constant and earnest 
preacher, and during the fifty-eight years of his episcopate 
he never failed every Sunday to preach or celebrate the holy 
rites of the Church, except when prevented by illness. No- 
thing could exceed his care and diligence in obtaining an ef- 
fective and pious clergy. From the moment that any student 
declared his intention of entering the sacred ministry, the 
bishop formed a close connection with him, watched over his 
conduct, and guided his studies and pursuits. After his en- 
trance on the sacred ministry, the bishop made him reside 
with him for a whole year, that he might exercise a more 
minute inspection, and administer daily instruction and ad- 
vice. He held many synods of the clergy, in which several 
wise constitutions and canons of discipline were made and 
enforced. He frequently addressed his clergy in pastoral 



A.D. 1530-1839. BISHOP WILSON. 193 

letters full of piety and wisdom ; and so great was the ven- 
eration in which they held him, that half a century after his 
decease, aged clergy have been heard to recount the virtues 
of Bishop Wilson with tears of affection trembling in their 
eyes. Bishop Wilson acquired a knowledge of the Manks 
language, into which he translated several pious books, and 
procured the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles to be translat- 
ed into that language. 

Bishop Wilson was a man of prayer. He not only prayed 
every morning at six o'clock with his family, and also in the 
evening, but he retired three times every day to his private 
devotions. Even in the night he might be heard engaged 
in prayer. Sometimes the words of the Psalmist were indis- 
tinctly heard by his attendants. "I will arise at midnight, 
and give thanks unto thee. Praise the Lord, O, my soul ; 
and all that is within me, praise his holy name." Sometimes 
parts of the Te Deum were recognised. Such were the night- 
ly orisons of this holy man. Words of instruction and con- 
solation were continually flowing from his lips ; so that it 
was scarcely possible to enjoy his society even for a short 
time without growing wiser and better. His actions, how- 
ever, spoke more forcibly than language ; the beauty of 
holiness shone forth in all his conversation, irradiated his 
countenance, and gave a peculiar charm to every thing he 
said or did. 

In 1722, the bishop, in the discharge of his duty as the guar- 
dian of the sacraments, forbade the governor's wife to ap- 
proach the holy table, as a punishment for a very scandalous 
calumny which she had disseminated. A clergyman having 
disobeyed this injunction of the bishop, he was suspended ; 
and the result was, that the bishop was illegally seized and 
imprisoned, with his two vicars-general. During this afflic- 
tion, the bishop was occupied in pra}^er and meditation, and 
in plans for the advancement of his Master's Kingdom. The 
poor were loud in their lamentations ; and being indignant at 
the injustice practised towards their beloved pastor, they were 
17 



194 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIII. 

about to level the governor's house to the ground, when they 
were restrained by the voice of their bishop, who spoke to them 
from his prison, and exhorted them to peace and submission. 
At length he was released on appeal to the king. The day 
of his release was one of universal rejoicing. The multi- 
tudes extended for three miles in length, scattering flowers 
beneath his feet, to the sound of music and loud rejoicings. 
Bishop Wilson's strictness in observing ecclesiastical disci- 
pline may be collected from the circumstances alrealy al- 
luded to. 

At length he was to be called away to his reward in 
heaven. He beheld the approach of death with peace and 
calmness, but with the deepest humility. Shortly before his 
death, a crowd of poor people were assembled in the hall to 
receive his blessing and alms, when he was overheard say- 
ing " God, be merciful to me a sinner, a vile sinner, a 
miserable sinner !" He fell into delirium some weeks be- 
fore his decease, but his dreams were filled with visions 
of angels. He died in 1755, in the ninety-third year of 
his age. 

It would be easy to add many other instances of Christian 
piety from the records of the Church in the period now be- 
fore us. The learning and sanctity of Usher, of Bedel, 
Andrews, Beveridge, Bull, would have done honour to the 
best days of Christianity. In recent times, the spirit of mis- 
sionary zeal has again revived, and the venerable Societies 
for the Propagation of the Gospel, and for Promoting Chris- 
tian Knowledge, have enlarged the spheres of their opera- 
tions. The foundation of these societies is chiefly to be at- 
tributed to the pious zeal of Dr. Thomas Bray, who, at the 
end of the seventeenth century, was appointed by the Bishop 
of London as his commissary in Maryland, America ; and who, 
-,~ ni on his return, established the Societv for the 

A.D. 1701. 7 

Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. 
This excellent Society has for a long series of years devoted 
itself to the maintenance of Christian missions in North 






A.D. 1530-1839. ROMAN CHURCHES. 195 

America, and other possessions of the British crown. The 
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge had been estab- 
lished in 1698; and from that period to the present time it 
has laboured for the benefit of the Church, in circulating the 
Scriptures and religious books, in contributing to the assist- 
ance of distressed churches, and in maintaining missions to 
the heathen, especially in India. Nor would it be just, in this 
place, to omit all mention of the Church Missionary Society, 

which has been formed within the present cen- - orm 

, . , i ., ii i A * D - 1800. 

tury, and which has contributed much to the 

spread of the Christian faith amongst the heathen, especially 

in the islands of the Southern Ocean. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

ON THE ROMAN CHURCHES. 

a.d. 1517-1839. 

The Churches which either voluntarily or by compulsion 
remained under the papal jurisdiction, and rejected the Re- 
formation, were those of Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Hun- 
gary, Bohemia, France, and part of Germany and Switzer- 
land. The conduct of the pope towards the Lutheran and 
Reformed has already been noticed, together with the assem- 
bling of the council of Trent. This famous synod, which 
in many of its sessions consisted of about forty or fifty 
bishops, had at last nearly two hundred. It closed in 15G3, 
having decided in favour of purgatory, transubstantiation, and 
some other erroneous opinions, which it declared articles of 
faith; and approved of invocation of saints, honouring of 
relics, communion in one kind, the celibacy of the clergy, 
&c. Certain opinions, universally prevalent at that time in 
the Roman Churches, obliged their members to receive all 



196 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIV. 

the decrees of this synod implicitly and without any discus- 
sion or examination. One great party believed the pope in- 
fallible ; the remainder held that a general council was infal- 
lible ; consequently, both agreed that a general council, ap- 
proved by a pope, (as the council of Trent was) must be in- 
fallible, and that whoever differed from it must be a heretic. 
All this was widely different from.the notions and the practice 
of primitive times, when the decrees of councils were exam- 
ined and judged by the universal Church, and derived their 
full authority only from universal consent. And hence it 
appears that the decrees of Trent were only those of -the 
bishops assembled there, not the deliberate judgments of the 
whole Roman Church, and still less the judgments of the 
whole catholic or universal Church. Under the same erro- 
neous opinions alluded to above, the Roman Churches refrain- 
ed from communicating with the Reformed Churches and 
communities, and engaged in vehement controversies with 
them, which have not yet ceased. These controversies were 
for a long time chiefly managed by a learned and artful socie- 
irq7 ty, called the Jesuits, who were founded by a 
Spaniard, named Ignatius Loyola, and who 
soon became the principal agents of the popes, and the chief 
support of their power. 

The Roman Churches, soon after the council of Trent, 
became much divided amongst themselves on the questions 
of Divine grace, of the authority of councils compared with 
that of popes, and of the immaculate conception of the Vir- 
gin. In these disputes the different parties went so far as to 
charge their adversaries with heresy. It would occupy too 
large a space to detail these disputes and divisions ; but the 
doctrines of Jansenius, bishop of Ipres, which were made pub- 
lic in 1640, led to infinite divisions and uneasiness in the Ro- 
man Churches. These doctrines, which approximated to 
those of Calvin, were assailed with vehemence by the Jesuits 

^nAc* i^-i o and the popes. But it was in vain that Ur- 
a.d. 1642-171d. ^ TTT ; r _ , TTTT 

ban VIII., Innocent X., Alexander VII., 



A.D. 1517-1839. ROMAN CHURCHES. 197 

and Clement XL, fulminated censures, excommunications, 
bulls, rescripts, briefs, &c, against the Jansenists. In vain 
were subscriptions required to formularies condemning their 
doctrines, and every ingenious device put in force to get rid 
of this party. All was fruitless — the Jansenists continued 
to hold their benefices in the Roman Churches, and in the 
earlier half of last century a number of the French bishops 
were of that party. Jansenism has ever since more or less 
disturbed the Roman communion. 

With Jansenism a reforming spirit arose, which produced 
a variety of innovations. In Germany, about 1760, many 
theologians decried the papal authority, which they wished to 
reduce within the narrowest limits ; and taught that several of 
the common practices and opinions were superstitious. The 
Emperor Joseph II., who began to reign in 1781, acted on 
these principles, suppressed monasteries, forbade papal dis- 
pensations, regulated ceremonies, favoured the Jansenists, 
removed images from the churches, suppressed some episco- 
pal sees, and assumed the patronage of all the bishoprics in 
Lombardy which had belonged to the popes. Pius VI. in 
vain opposed these proceedings ; they became embodied in 
the laws of Austria ; and the churches within that empire, in 
Germany and Italy, are more under the temporal power than 
under the pope. In various parts of Germany the Romish 
clergy condemn the celibacy of the clergy and communion 
in one kind, and celebrate divine service in German. The 
conduct of Joseph II. was imitated in Tuscany by the Arch- 
duke Leopold,* (who forbade all appeal to the popes,) and in 
Naples, Parma, Portugal. A number of monasteries were 
suppressed by the King of Sicily in 1776. In Holland the 
Jansenists have had bishops of their own since 1723, who 
claim to be members of the Roman Church, though the popes 
will not recognise them as such. 

The most vehement opponents of the Jansenists were the 

* [With the advice and aid of the learned and pious Scipio de Ricci, bishop 
of Pistoia, nephew of the last General of the Order of Jesuits. — Am. Ed.] 

17* 



198 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIV. 

Jesuits, already alluded to, who chiefly engaged in the defence 
of the Roman Church against its opponents, in the education 
of youth, and in the dissemination of Christianity in heathen 
lands. The loading members of this society wore bound by 
an oath to go wherever the pope should think fit to send them. 
Their perfect internal discipline; their entire obedience to 
their general (thus the head of the order was termed;) the 
art with which they adapted their instructions to every class 
of people ; the consummate ability, learning, and judgment 
which they displayed; soon rendered them the most powerful 
and opulent of the monastic orders. They became the grand 
bulwark of the papacy, supporting all its claims with un- 
wearied assiduity. The facility with which they relaxed the 
moral system of Christianity, and accommodated it to the 
propensities of mankind, rendered them exceedingly popular 
as spiritual advisers and confessors in the courts of princes, 
and amongst the wealthy and noble. They soon obtained 
exclusive dominion in these high places. For a century af- 
ter the foundation of this society, all the most eminent theolo- 
gians of the Roman communion were found amongst its mem- 
bers. The names of Salmeron, Lainez, Bellarmine, Vas- 
quez, Petavius, and many others, might be mentioned in illus- 
tration of this. 

The characteristics of the Jesuits were craft and subtil ty. 
They were perfectly unscrupulous in the use of means for the 
accomprishment of their ends. Evasions, mental reserva- 
tions, equivocations, were openly defended and unblushingly 
practised; even direct falsehood was employed, whenever it 
was imagined to be necessary for the interests of theii 
cause. These dangerous principles and practices of Jesuit- 
ism were most ably exposed by the celebrated Pascal, in the 
Provincial Letters, about the middle of the seventeenth cen. 
tury. This powerful and wealthy society, however, was at 
last destined to fall. 

About the year 17G0, their evil practices and political in- 
trigues having excited universal jealousy, the French parlia- 



a.d. 1517-1839. Jesuits. 199 

ment supressed the order of Jesuits, in spite of the remon- 
strances of the pope and bishops. They were soon after 
suppressed by the civil power in Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c. ; 
and, in fine, the order was extinguished by Pope _ 77q 

Clement XIV. This was a grievous blow to 
the papacy, of which the Jesuits were most devoted par- 
tisans. In the course of the present century, this dangerous 
order has been revived by Pope Pius VII., and i«ia 

is beginning again to trouble the Church.* 

A spirit of infidelity had long been spreading itself in 
France and other parts of the continent, under the influence 
of Voltaire, D'Alembert, and others. Many of these infi- 
dels were members, and even clergy, of the Roman churches. 
In 1789 the French Revolution broke out, and led to the im- 
mediate suppression of monasteries, and the destruction of 
Church property. The Gallic an Church was then re-or- 
ganised by the power of the republic ; all the bishops were 
driven from their sees, in consequence of their refusing to 
acquiesce in this alteration, by which the num- 1709 

ber of bishoprics was reduced more than one 
half, and the papal power suppressed. A body of new 
bishops were then appointed, and consecrated by Talleyrand, 
bishop of Autun. Before long, several of these Galilean 
bishops declared themselves atheists, and renounced the wor- 
ship of God. All religion was then proscribed. When 
Buonaparte became first consul, he negotiated inm 

for the restoration of the Church with Pope Pi- 
us VII., and the latter, in consequence, insisted on all the old 
royalist bishops and the constitutional prelates resigning their 
sees. On the refusal of many of the former, he declared 
their consent needless, annihilated 159 bishoprics, and created 
in their place 60 new ones. Buonaparte then enacted laws, 

* [It is spreading itself both openly and secretly in the United States of 
America, and with its wonted policy seeming to adapt itself to the institu- 
tions of the country, while by getting the control of education, it prepares 
to modify and direct those institutions at its will. — Am. Ed.] 



200 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXIV. 

placing the new Gallican Church entirely under the control 
of government, as it continues to be to the present day. The 
adherents of the deprived bishops declared these acts schis- 
matical, and they form a distinct communion from the rest of 
the Roman Church. Some years afterwards, Buonaparte ex- 
tinguished the temporal power of the pope ; which, however, 
was restored again at the peace in 1814. 

The monasteries were also suppressed in France, Italy, 
Germany ; and in the course of the last few years, they have 
been suppressed in Spain and Portugal by the temporal rulers 
in those countries. The pope has now entirely lost that tem- 
poral power over the princes of Europe, which in the middle 
ages filled the world with confusion. The recent acts of the 
King of Prussia, in imprisoning some bishops who had vio- 
lated the laws, and their own engagements, with reference 
to marriages between persons of different communions, 
would a few centuries since have been followed by his depo- 
sition from the throne, and the proclamation of a crusade 
against him. 

The limits of the Roman Churches were much enlarged 

about the time of the Reformation by the conquests of the 

Portuguese and Spanish in the east and west. A great number 

of converts from heathenism in the east were made by the pious 

ir/io zeal of Francis Xavier, who sailed for the 
a.d. 1542. . T i i . 

Portuguese settlements in India, and in a very 

short time succeeded in spreading the Christian religion 
throughout that vast country and the adjoining islands. In 
1549 he went to Japan, and established there numerous 
churches, which continued to flourish for many years, until they 
were brought into persecution, and destroyed by the intrigues 
of the Jesuits. He died in 1552, as he was about to attempt 
the conversion of the Chinese ; but after his death, Matthew 
Ricci, and other Jesuits, penetrated into that empire ; and 
having made themselves very acceptable to the emperor by 
their skill in science, they were permitted to instruct the peo- 
ple in the Christian religion ; and thus the foundation of the 



A.D. 1517-1839. ROMAN CHURCHES. 201 

church was laid amongst the Chinese, which still continues, 
under much persecution, to exist among them. The Nesto- 
rians of St. Thomas were also forced to unite , _ Q q 

themselves with the Roman Church by Mene- 
zes, archbishop of Goa. Christianity, which was now intro- 
duced into South America by the Spanish and Portuguese, 
obtained numerous converts there, and took deep and perma- 
nent root. 

The synod of Trent reformed some of the grosser abuses 
in discipline ; but its canons of discipline were not universal- 
ly received. The controversies with the advocates of refor- 
mation led to some amelioration of doctrine amongst the well- 
informed members of the Roman Church. In the seven- 
teenth century it became their object to represent their doc- 
trines in the form which was most moderate, most conforma- 
ble to Scripture, and most approximating to the tenets of the 
Reformation. One object in this new system of argument 
was to convict the Protestants of schism in voluntarily for- 
saking the communion of the Church, — an offence which was 
imputed to them by their antagonists, and too often admitted 
by themselves, in direct opposition to the facts of history. 
This mode of argument, however — in the hands of the cele- 
brated Roman theologians Bossuetand Veron — had the effect 
of producing sounder and more moderate views on many 
subjects in the Romish Church itself, though it is unhappily 
but too certain that the great mass of that community are 
still involved in superstitions and errors very injurious to true 
religion. The principles of morality have also become very 
much relaxed amongst them by the influence of the Jesuits ; 
and the system of questioning adopted at confession seems 
calculated for the dissemination of vice. 



202 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

FRUITS OF FAITH IN THE ROMAN CHURCHES. 

A.D. 15304660. 

However deeply we may deplore the abuses and corrup- 
tions which exist in the Roman Churches, and however cer- 
tain it be that many errors injurious to Christian piety, and 
many offences against Christian morality, are found in that 
communion, still it would argue a prejudiced and uncharitable 
mind to close our eyes on several bright examples of Chris- 
tian holiness which have adorned the Roman communion in 
the latter ages, and to refuse to recognise the impress of 
Divine grace on lives adorned by every virtue which can flow 
from a lively faith and charity. The contemplation of such 
examples will tend to remove any feelings of spiritual pride 
which might arise from imagining that virtue and goodness 
arc restrained to some particular branch of the Church of 
Christ, while the great mass of Christendom is given over 
entirely to darkness and to sin. 

Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, was born in 
1506, in Navarre, of an illustrious family, and was pursuing 
his studies at the University of Paris, when he became the 
friend, and ultimately one of the disciples of Ignatius Loyola, 
the founder of the order of Jesuits, a man of an enthusiastic 
turn of mind, and of a piety which was deeply tinged with su- 
perstition. In 1537 Xavier was ordained priest, and took the 
vows as a member of the new order. The following year, 
while Ignatius and his disciples were at Rome, whither they 
had gone to place themselves under the directions of the pope 
as to their future destination, an application was made by the 
King of Portugal for the assistance of some of these zealous 
men to preach the Gospel in the East Indies. In compli- 



a.d. 1530-1660. xavier. 203 

ance with this request, Francis Xavier was sent +-** 

-r> ...,/» ii , a.d. 1540. 

to Portugal, whence, in the following year, he 

sailed for India, with various powers and recommendations 
from the pope. During the voyage, he considered the crew 
of the vessel in which he sailed as intrusted to his peculiar 
care. He instructed the sailors in their catechism, preached 
every Sunday before the main-mast, visited the sick, con- 
verted his own cabin into an infirmary, while he himself lay 
on the deck ; and, with the ascetic spirit of his order at that 
time, subsisted entirely on charity, being possessed of 
nothing himself. In short, during the whole voyage, he 
evinced a spirit of zeal and piety which afforded a pledge of 
the success of that great work which he was about to under- 
take. 

In 1542 he landed at Goa ; and having obtained the sanc- 
tion of the bishop, he commenced his mission. The state 
of religion amongst professing Christians in that place was 
most lamentable. The Portuguese inhabitants were full of 
revenge, ambition, avarice, and every description of wicked- 
ness ; all sentiments of religion seemed extinguished in them. 
The sacraments were neglected ; there were scarcely any 
preachers ; and the heathen, immersed in every sin, were 
neither led by precept nor example to forsake their errors 
and superstitions. Xavier beheld with grief the scandalous 
example of the nominal Christians around him ; and he re- 
solved to labour for their conversion and reformation in the 
first instance. 

He began by instructing them in the principles of religion, 
and by forming the youth in the practice of piety. Having 
spent the morning of each day in the hospitals and prisons, 
assisting and comforting the distressed, he walked through 
the streets of Goa, with a bell in his hand, summoning all 
masters, for the love of God, to send their children and slaves 
to be catechised. The children gathered in crowds around 
him : he led them to church, taught them the creed and prac- 
tices of devotion, and impressed on them strong sentiments 



204 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV. 

of piety and religion. The effect produced on the youth soon 
became manifest ; the example began to spread ; the whole 
town was influenced to turn from sin. After a time, Xavier 
preached in public, and visited the people in their houses ; 
and a most extraordinary and universal reformation in their 
morals and habits ensued. 

After six months spent in these successful labours, Xavier, 
hearing that many of the Paravas, a people on the eastern 
coast of India, near Cape Comorin, had some years before 
permitted themselves to be baptised, in order to gratify the 
Portuguese; and having gained some knowledge of their 
language, went thither with two young clergy who under- 
stood the language sufficiently well. Here Xavier preached 
the Gospel with such success, that these people were convert- 
ed in thousands ; and so great were the multitudes whom he 
baptised, that sometimes, from the fatigue of administering 
that sacrament, he could hardly move his arm. It is said, 
that he was enabled to work several remarkable cures of sick 
persons; and a belief in such wonders, whether well or ill- 
founded, seems to have had much influence in contributing to 
the extraordinary success of his ministry. His labours, in- 
deed, were incredible: while he lived only on rice and 
water, like the very poorest of the people, he was able to de- 
vote his whole day and night, except three hours of sleep, to 
the exercise of his ministry and the duties of devotion. 

Xavier had laboured for more than a year in the conver- 
sion of these people, when he was obliged to return to Goa 
for assistance. He came back in 1544 with several mission- 
aries, some of whom he stationed in different towns, to con- 
tinue the instruction of his converts ; the others he brought 
with him to tho adjoining kingdom of Travancore, where he 
baptised ten thousand Indians in one month ; and in a very 
few months, almost the whole kingdom of Travancore em- 
braced Christianity. He afterwards visited several other 
parts of India, where he founded churches. Xavier then 
sailed to Malacca, a famous mart for merchandise, where he 



a.d. 1530-1660. xavier. 205 

arrived in 1545; and by the irresistible ardour of his zeal, 
reformed the Christians in that place, and converted many 
pagans and Mahommedans. He next preached in the Spice 
Islands, Amboyna, the Moluccas, and Ceylon, in all of which 
he brought great numbers to the faith. In this mission he 
experienced many sufferings and dangers ; but his zeal for 
God caused him rather to rejoice in those things. " The 
dangers to which I am exposed/ 5 said he, " and the toils 1 
undergo for the interest of God only, are an inexhaustible 
spring of spiritual joys, insomuch that these islands, bare as 
they are of all worldly necessaries, are the very places in 
the world for a man to lose his sight through the excess of 
weeping ; but they are tears of joy. I never remember to 
have tasted such inward delights ; and these consolations of 
the soul are so pure, so exquisite, so constant, that they take 
from me all sense of my corporeal sufferings. 55 

Having returned again to Goa, Xavier soon after sailed on 
a mission to Japan, where he arrived in 1549, and was re- 
ceived favourably by the king, who allowed him to preach 
the Gospel ; and he applied himself with such extreme dili- 
gence to the study of the language, that in a few weeks he 
was able to translate the creed, and an exposition of it, to- 
gether with a life of our Saviour compiled from the Gospels, 
and to preach in public. He made many converts, amongst 
whom he distributed the translations he had made. He con- 
tinued to preach amongst the islands with various success: at 
Fuceo vast multitudes of people desired to be instructed and 
baptised; and the king himself was convinced of the truth 
of the Gospel. Having laid the foundations of the Christian 
Church throughout Japan, he again embarked for India in 
1551 ; and after a short stay there, was once more on his way 
ro preach the Gospel in China, when it pleased . - - -- 

God to call away this great missionary, after ten 
years of labours and successes almost unparalleled since the 
days of the apostles. 

Charles Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, and cardinal of 
18 



206 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV 

i too the Roman Church, was born of a noble famih 

a.d. 1538. . • *> 

at Arona, in the duchy of Milan. His father, a 

man of exemplary piety, gave him an education proportioned 
to the great prospects of promotion which his family connec- 
tions presented ; and he gave early signs of a strong attach- 
ment to literary pursuits. His uncle, Pope Pius IV., on his 
election to the Roman see. invited him to Rome, and created 
him cardinal and archbishop of Milan, when he was only 
twenty-two years of age. The pope intrusted to him the 
chief management of ecclesiastical affairs, in which he 
evinced an ability and discretion which would have done 
credit to the most experienced ecclesiastic. The Romans 
were remarkable for indolence and ignorance : to induce 
them to aspire to a more honourable character, Borromeo in- 
stituted an academy, consisting of ecclesiastics and laymen, 
whom his munificence and example incited to study and ani 
mated to virtue. But in the midst of a luxurious court, the 
young cardinal was carried away by the torrent : his palace, 
furniture, equipage, and table, were splendid and sumptuous ; 
and his uncle, in order to enable him to support such ex- 
penses, heaped on him a number of high and lucrative ap- 
pointments, in addition to several rich abbeys and other bene- 
fices, of which he was possessed. In 1562, Borromeo's eldest 
brother died; and notwithstanding his high station in the 
Church, he was now urged by the pope, and by all his friends, 
to resign his ecclesiastical dignities, and marry, in order to 
support his family name; but he refused their solicitations, 
and was ordained priest the same year. 

The council of Trent re-assembled about this time, and 
the reformation of the clergy became the subject of much dis- 
cussion. Cardinal Borromeo was not content to urge that 
reformation on others ; he adopted it himself. He dismissed 
at once above eighty officers of his household ; laid aside his 
robes of silk,; and submitted once in every week to a day 
of voluntary fasting on bread and water. In 1566, on the 
death of his uncle, ho retired to Milan, and engaged earnest- 



A.D. 1530-1660. BORROMEO. 207 

ly in the reformation of his diocese. He began by the regu- 
lation of his own family, which consisted of about a hundred 
persons, chiefly clergy ; considering that his task would be 
easier, when all he wished to prescribe to others was exem- 
plified in his own house. He soon brought all his household 
to a most regular, orderly, and religious life. His own hab- 
its of piety and self-denial were very remarkable. He re- 
moved from his palace all the fine sculpture, paintings, hang- 
ings, and even the armorial bearings of his family ; wore the 
coarsest vestments under his^ robes : and avoided, as much 
as possible, being served or attended on by any others. In order 
to inspire his clergy with a contempt for earthly possessions, 
he would severely reprove those who discovered an interested 
or covetous spirit ; even bishops were not exempt from his 
reproofs. He himself exemplified most remarkably the vir- 
tues of charity and disinterestedness. When he came to 
reside at Milan, he voluntarily resigned benefices and estates 
to the value of 80,000 crowns per annum, reserving only an 
income of 20,000 crowns. The principality of Oria, which 
had become his property by the death of his brother, he sold 
for 40,000 crowns, which he commanded his almoners to dis- 
tribute among the poor and the hospitals. When the list 
which the almoners showed him for the distribution amounted, 
by mistake, to 2000 crowns more, Borromeo said the mistake 
was too much to the advantage of the poor to be corrected, 
and the whole was accordingly distributed in one day. 
When his brother died, he also caused all the rich furniture 
and jewels of the family to be sold, and gave the price, which 
amounted to 30,000 crowns, to the poor. Several other 
cases of charity, on an equally large scale, might be added. 
His chief almoner Was ordered to distribute among the poor 
of Milan, of whom he kept an exact list, 200 crowns every 
month. Borromeo would never permit any beggar to be dis- 
missed without some alms, whatever he was. 

He was exceedingly hospitable and liberal in entertaining 
princes, prelates, and strangers of all ranks, but always with- 



203 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV. 

out dainties or luxury; and he endeavoured as much as pos- 
sible to conceal his own abstemiousness. His religious foun- 
dations, repairs of churches, of the dwellings of the clergy, 
and of the seminaries of learning, not only at Milan, but at 
Bologna, Rome, and many other places, were on the most 
magnificent scale of liberality. 

Borromeo found his diocese in the greatest disorder. The 
great truths of salvation were little known or understood ; 
and religious practices were profaned by the grossest abuses, 
and disfigured by superstitions. The sacraments were neg- 
lected ; the clergy seem scarcely to have known how to ad- 
minister them, and were slothful, ignorant, and depraved: 
the monasteries were full of disorders. Borromeo instituted 
seminaries for the instruction of the clergy; appointed a 
number of vicars, or rural deans, who exercised a vigilant 
superintendence over every part of his diocese ; and held 
many provincial and diocesan synods, in which the most ex- 
cellent and judicious regulations were made, and enforced 
with inflexible firmness. In the course of his proceedings, 
he frequently encountered the most violent opposition from 
those who were unwilling to be corrected. The order of 
monks called Humiliati were particularly irritated by his la- 
bours for their reform, and excited against him one of their 
members, who actually fired a musket at the archbishop, as 
he was one evening at prayers with his family. Borromeo 
calmly finished his prayer, though the ball had struck his 
robe (happily without wounding him,) and then, with truly 
Christian charity, forgave the assassin, and even solicited his 
pardon. But justice took its course, arid the order was sup- 
pressed by the pope. 

Borromeo divided the revenue of his see into three parts ; 
one of which was appropriated to his household, another to 
the poor, and a third to the repairs of churches: and it 
was his custom to lay before the provincial councils the ac- 
counts of his revenues to the last farthing, saying that he 
was no more than an administrator or steward . He employed 



A.D. 1530-1660. BORROMEO. 209 

no clergy of his own kindred in the government of his dio- 
cese ; nor did he resign to them any of the benefices which 
had been conferred on him. 

It was one of his greatest pleasures to converse with, and 
catechise, the poor ; and he would often visit them in the wild- 
est and most mountainous parts of his diocese. On one oc- 
casion, while he was engaged in his visitation, the bishop of 
Ferrara coming to meet him, found him lying under a fit of 
the ague on a coarse bed, and in a very poor cottage. Bor- 
romeo, observing his surprise, remarked " that he was treat- 
ed very well, and much better than he deserved." During 
the dreadful ravages of a pestilence, this excellent man en- 
couraged his clergy to administer the consolations of religion 
to the sick and dying, and he was himself assiduous in the 
performance of this dangerous duty. On this occasion he 
sold all his furniture to procure medicine and nourishment 
for the unhappy sufferers. He was careful not to lose a mo- 
ment of his time: even at table he listened to some pious 
book, or dictated letters or instructions. When he fasted on 
bread and water, and dined in private, he read at the same 
time, and on his knees when the Bible was before him. After 
dinner, instead of conversing, he gave audience to his rural 
deans and clergy. He allowed himself no time for recrea- 
tion; finding in the different employments of his office both 
corporal exercise and relaxation of mind sufficient for main 
taining the vigour of his mind and health of his body. 

When he was put in mind of any fault, he expressed the 
most sincere gratitude; and he gave a commission to two 
prudent and religious clergy of his household to remind him 
of any thing they saw amiss in his actions ; and he frequent- 
ly requested the same favour of strangers. He was remarka- 
ble for sincerity : it appeared in all his words and actions : 
and his promises were inviolable. He delighted in prayer, 
to which he gave a large part of his time ; and he never said 
any prayer, or performed any religious office, with precipita- 
tion, whatever business of importance might be on his hands, 
18* 



210 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV. 

or however he might be pressed for time. In giving audience, 
and in the greatest hurry of business, his countenance, his 
modesty, and all his words, showed that he was full of the 
recollection of God. His spirit of prayer, and the love of 
God which filled his heart, gave to him remarkably the power 
of exciting and encouraging others to religion. A short ad- 
dress, even a single word or action, sometimes produced the 
most powerful effects in animating his clergy to repentance 
and to virtue. 

This great and good man died in 1584, in the forty-seventh 
year of his age; with the same piety and sanctity which 
adorned his short but admirable life. 

Francis de Sales was born of noble parents in Savoy, 
and was remarkable for a spirit of piety and meekness from 
his earliest years. His mother taught him to venerate the 
Church and religion : she read to him the lives of holy men; 
brought him with her to visit the poor, and made him distri- 
bute her alms to them. Having studied theology and law at 
the Universities of Paris and Padua, his parents intended that 
he should follow the legal profession, and they had already 
obtained a lucrative and important office from the Duke of 
Savoy for him ; but Francis had resolved to devote himself 
to the sacred ministry, and declined so advantageous an es- 
tablishment. Through the intervention and entreaties of a 
relative, his parents were at length, with much difficulty, per- 
suaded to accede to his wishes, and he then was appointed 
to a dignity in the Church, and was ordained deacon. His 
diocesan, the bishop of Annecy, immediately employed him 
in preaching, in which he was eminently successful, as his 
sermons were always the result of fervent prayer. He was 
observed to decline whatever might gain the applause of the 
world; and he preferred resorting to the habitations of the 
poor, and to the rural districts, rather than preaching before 
the great and opulent. In 1591, the first year of his 
ministry, he instituted a society at Annecy, the associates 
of which were obliged to instruct the ignorant, to comfort 



A.D. 1530-1660. FRANCIS DE SALES. 211 

and exhort the sick and prisoners, and to abstain from all 
lawsuits. 

In 1594 the Duke of Savoy having conquered Geneva, 
and some of the adjoining parts of Switzerland, Francis de 
Sales was commissioned to preach in those parts to the re- 
formed. Impressed, like the rest of his communion, with the 
mistaken notion that the Roman Pontiff is, by Divine appoint- 
ment, the centre of catholic unity, he of course viewed the 
reformed as separated from the true Church, and he laboured 
for their conversion for several years. He was much re- 
spected by Beza, and the rest of the reformed in Switzer- 
land ; and the excellence of his own character, and the piety 
and meekness which he always evinced, probably did much 
more for his cause than any other arguments by which it was 
sustained. The plague at one time raged violently in the 
place where he resided, but this did not deter him from as 
sisting the sick in their last moments by day and night ; and 
he was wonderfully preserved in the pestilence, which carried 
off several of the clergy who aided him. In 1599 he became 
coadjutor of the bishop of Annecy, with the right of succes- 
sion to that see ; and soon after was obliged to go to France, 
where he was received by all ranks and classes with the ut- 
most distinction. He preached before the king, who en- 
deavoured to detain him in France by promises of a large 
pension, and of the first vacant bishopric : but Francis de 
Sales declined all these offers; and returning to the poor 
bishopric of Annecy, was soon after, on the death of his pre- 
decessor, consecrated its pastor in 1602. He now laid down 
a plan of life, to which he ever after rigorously adhered. 
He resolved to wear no expensive clothing ; to have no paint- 
ings except of a devotional character in his house ; to possess 
no splendid furniture ; to use no coach or carriage, but make 
his visitations on foot. His family was to consist of two 
priests, one to act as his chaplain, the other to superintend his 
servants and temporalities; his table to be plain and frugal. 
He resolved to be present at all religious and devotional meet- 



212 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV. 

ings and festivals in the churches ; to distribute abundant 
alms ; to visit the sick and poor in person ; to rise every day at 
four, meditate for an hour, read private service, then prayers 
with his family; then to read the Scripture; celebrate the 
holy eucharist; and afterwards apply to business till dinner. 
He then gave an hour to conversation, and spent the remain- 
der of the afternoon in business and prayer. After supper 
he read a pious book to his family for an hour ; then prayed 
with them, and retired to his private devotions, and to rest. 
Such was the general mode of life of this excellent man. 

Immediately after he became bishop, he applied himself to 
preaching, and to all the other duties of his station. He was 
very cautious in conferring holy orders, ordaining but few 
clergy, and only after a most rigid examination of their 
qualifications. He was also exceedingly diligent in promot- 
ing the instruction of the ignorant by catechising on Sundays 
and holydays ; and his personal labours in this respect had a 
very great influence in persuading the clergy of his diocese 
to follow so good an example. He still continued to delight 
in preaching in small villages, and to the poorest people, 
whom he regarded as the special objects of his care. He 
had a very wide correspondence on religious subjects ; and 
composed several books full of piety and devotion, but of 
course not altogether free from the superstitions of his age 
and communion. His compassion was so excited by the un- 
happy condition of a poor deaf and dumb man, that he re- 
ceived him into his own family, taught him by signs, and in- 
structed him in religion. He founded a new order of nuns, 
in which few bodily austerities were practised, and no great 
burdens of religious observances were imposed ; his object 
being to render it suitable even for the sickly and weak. 

The same disinterested spirit which he had early manifest- 
ed always continued. When he was solicited by Henry IV., 
king of France, to accept an abbey of large income, he re- 
fused it, saying, " that he dreaded riches as much as others 
desired them ; and that the less he had of them, the less he 



A.D. 1530-1660. FRANCIS DE SALES. 213 

should have to answer for." The same prince offered to 
name him to the dignity of cardinal at the next promotion ; 
but he replied, that though he did not despise the proffered 
dignity, he was persuaded that great titles did not suit him, 
and might raise new obstacles to his salvation. His consci- 
entious firmness was also remarkable. On one occasion the 
parliament of Chambery in Savoy seized his temporalities for 
refusing, at its desire, to publish an ecclesiastical censure 
which he thought uncalled for by the circumstances of the 
case. When he heard of the seizure of his possessions, he 
'said that he thanked God for teaching him by it, "that a 
bishop is altogether spiritual." He did not desist from 
preaching, or apply to the sovereign for redress; but behav- 
ed in so kind and friendly a manner to those who had insult- 
ed him most grossly, that at length the parliament became 
ashamed of its proceedings, and restored his temporalities. 

In 1619 he accompanied the Cardinal of Savoy to Paris, 
to demand the sister of King Louis XIII. in marriage for the 
prince of Piedmont. While he was in that city he preached 
a course of Lent sermons, which, aided by his conferences, 
the example of his holy life, and the sweetness of his dis- 
course, most powerfully moved, not only the devout, but even 
libertines and atheists. He was entreated, for the sake of 
his health, not to preach twice in the day. He replied, with 
a smile, M that it cost him much less to preach a sermon than 
to find an excuse for himself when invited to perform that 
office. God had appointed him to be a pastor and a preacher, 
and ought not every one to follow his profession ?" Amongst 
his common sayings was this, " That truth must be always 
charitable, for bitter zeal does harm rather than good. Re- 
prehensions are a food of hard digestion, and ought to be 
dressed on a fire of burning charity so well, that all harsh- 
ness be taken away; otherwise, like unripe fruit, they will 
only produce pains. Charity seeks not itself nor its own in- 
terests, but purely the honour and interest of God. Pride, 
vanity, and passion, cause bitterness and harshness. A re- 



214 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXV 

medy injudiciously applied may be a poison. A judicious si- 
lence is always better than a truth spoken without charity." 
On one occasion, seeing a vicious and scandalous priest 
thrown into prison, he fell at his feet, and, with tears, conjur- 
ed him to have compassion on him his pastor, on religion 
which he scandalized, and on his own soul. The man was 
so deeply impressed by this conduct, that he was entirely con- 
verted, and became a virtuous man from that moment. 

In 1622 this holy bishop fell into an apoplexy; and as his 
illness slowly increased, he poured forth his soul in supplica- 
tion to God, and in all those expressions of devotion and hu^. 
mility which might have been anticipated at the close of so 
Christian a life. He then peacefully expired, in the fifty-sixth 
year of his age. 

Vincent de Paul was born near the Pyrenees in France, 
of poor parentage, in 1576; and even from his childhood 
showed a seriousness and a love of prayer remarkable for 
his years. His father was determined, by the strong inclina- 
tions of his child for piety and study, and by the quickness 
of his parts, to give him a school-education ; and for this 
purpose placed him at a monastery of Franciscan friars. He 
afterwards studied at the University of Toulouse, where he 
was admitted to the order of priesthood in 1600. Vincent 
was already endowed with many virtues ; but he was now to 
experience trials which were calculated to make the deepest 
demands on his self-denial, his humility, and his submission 
to the will of God. He was on a voyage from Narbonne to 
Marseilles, on some affairs, in 1605, when the vessel in which 
he was sailing was captured by pirates from Africa, who 
wounded him with an arrow, laid him in chains, and sailed 
for the coast of Barbary. At Tunis, Vincent was sold as a 
slave to a physician, who was a humane man, but who used 
his utmost efforts to induce his slave to embrace the Mahom- 
medan law, promising, on that condition, to leave him all his 
riches, and communicate to him the secrets of his science. 
The result need scarcely be told. Vincent remained firm in 



A.D. 1530-1660. VINCENT DE PAUL. 215 

his faith ; and on his master's death was sold to another Ma- 
hommedan, who treated him with extreme harshness and 
cruelty. He, however, learned to bear all his afflictions with 
comfort and joy, by remembering his blessed Redeemer, 
and studying to imitate his perfect meekness, patience, si- 
lence, and charity. At last he was sold again to a renegade 
(one who had apostatised from Christianity.) This man had 
several Turkish wives, one of whom frequently went to the 
field where Vincent was digging, and, out of curiosity, would 
ask him to sing the praises of God. He used to sing to her, 
with tears in his eyes, the Psalm, " By the waters of Babylon 
we sat down and wept," and several Christian hymns. She 
gradually became so much captivated with the excellence of 
the Christian religion, though still unconverted and professing 
the Mahommedan creed, that she continually reproached her 
husband for hisapostacy from so excellent a religion; and at 
length his conscience was so awakened, that he repented of 
his sin, and resolved to return to his country and his faith. 
In 1607 he made his escape to France, accompanied by Vin- 
cent de Paul. They afterwards went to Rome, where the 
renegade was received again into the Church. 

On Vincent's return to Paris, he served as curate at a 
neighbouring village, and afterwards became preceptor and 
spiritual director in a noble family; and here his remarkable 
success in awakening the sleeping conscience of a dying sin- 
ner to a full sense of his guilt, led to his employment in the 
mission of preaching repentance; for which purpose he be- 
came the founder of a congregation or society of clergy, who 
were bound to devote themselves to the conversion of sin- 
ners, and the training up of clergy for the holy ministry. They 
traversed every part of France, and engaged in the sacred 
office wherever their assistance, in aid of the ordinary minis- 
try, was particularly called for. Vincent lived to see this in- 
stitution become very extensive, and highly approved by the 
Church and State. 

He was also the founder of many other religious and char- 



216 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVI. 

itable societies, especially of the Society of Charity, for at- 
tending on all the poor sick persons in each parish; and of 
other societies for visiting the sick in hospitals, and for the 
education of girls. He also procured the foundation of many 
great hospitals. He instituted spiritual exercises for those 
who were about to receive holy orders, and ecclesiastical con- 
ferences on the duties of the clerical office. During the 
wars in Lorraine, hearing of the misery to which the people 
of that province were reduced, he collected alms amongst 
pious and charitable people at Paris to the amount of 100,000/. 
He was in the highest favour with King Louis XIII. and 
Queen Anne of Austria, who consulted him on all ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs, and on the collation of benefices. 

Amidst such a multiplicity of important affairs, his soul 
was always set on God. He was remarkable for self-denial, 
for profound humility, and for a spirit of prayer. He laid it 
down as a rule of humility, that, if possible, a man ought 
never to talk of his own concerns; such discourse usually 
proceeding from, and nourishing in the heart, the spirit of 
pride. At length, at the advanced age of eighty-four, this 
pious and profitable servant of God was called to his ever- 
lasting reward, amidst the veneration and love of all men. 
He died in 1660, and was buried in the church of St. Laza- 
rus at Paris. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ON THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 
A.D. 1517-1839. 

The faith and discipline of the eastern or Greek Churches 
in Russia, Turkey, Greece, Asia, Syria, and Egypt, have re- 
mained with scarcely any variation during the whole of this 
period. In the sixteenth century, the Lutherans sought a 



A.D. 1517-1839. ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 217 

union with the Constantinopolitan Church, but were prevented 
by various differences from accomplishing their wish. In the 
seventeenth century some intercourse took place between 
the Constantinopolitan and English Churches. Cyril Luca- 
ris, patriarch of Constantinople, dedicated his work on the 
faith of the Eastern Church to King Charles I., and present- 
ed to him the celebrated Alexandrian manuscript of the 
Bible. And in 1653 Dr. Basire, archdeacon of Northum- 
berland, when travelling in Greece, was invited twice by the 
metropolitan of Achaia to preach before the bishops and cler- 
gy ; and he received from Paisius, patriarch of Jerusalem, 
his patriarchal seal, to express his desire of communion with 
the Church of England. The communion of our Churches 
and those of the East has not, however, yet been restored. In 
the seventeenth century, also, the doctrine of transubstantiation 
was first embraced by a portion of the Greek Church, though 
many persons still only make use of the term, without believ- 
ing the Roman doctrine on the subject. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century the Russian 
Church, which had previously always been subject to the see 
of Constantinople, became independent ; for, at the desire of 

the Russians, a patriarch of Moscow was ere- -,,-™ 

i i i ' • i ™ i A - D - 1589. 

ated by the eastern patriarchs. Peter the 

Great, in the last century, suppressed this office, and appoint- 
ed a synod to conduct the affairs of the Rus- i7nn 
sian Church. He also reformed several abuses 
and corruptions in that Church ; but these improvements were 
not relished by some of the clergy and people, who were at- 
tached to the old superstitions and abuses, and who, like the 
Romanists in England and Ireland, separated ififip 
from the Church, and are termed Roskolniks, 
or schismatics. Within the last few years the Church in the 
newly created kingdom of Greece has also been withdrawn 
from the jurisdiction of the see of Constantinople, and placed 
under the direction of a synod of bishops : but this has not 
led to any division in the eastern Church ; for, unlike the 
19 



218 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVII. 

popes, the patriarchs of Constantinople do not treat as here- 
tics or schismatics every one who is not subject to their juris- 
diction. The Greek Church has also recently gained a con- 
siderable addition, by the reunion of those Churches in Po- 
land who held the Greek rites, and which had been for some 
time obedient to the pope. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF INFIDELITY. 

I have already alluded to the spread of infidelity in the 
last century ; but a circumstance so deeply affecting the Chris- 
tian Church deserves a more detailed notice. It is fearful to 
contemplate the excess of wickedness to which God some- 
times permits his enemies to proceed. One can hardly ima- 
gine that any human being in his senses, who was born in a 
Christian land, and who had been baptised and educated in a 
Christian Church, could be so far transported by his passions 
as to declare himself the enemy of Jesus Christ ! The heart 
trembles at the very notion of such blasphemy. But that a 
man should, for nearly seventy years, devote himself to the 
extirpation of Christianity ; to the destruction of that faith which 
alone consoles man amidst his afflictions and his fears ; to 
the extinction of every principle of virtue and morality, and 
the inculcation of general depravity, — this opens to our view 
a deeper gulf of human guilt than even the records of Scrip- 
ture supply, or the imagination could have conceived. Such 
was Voltaire ; a man whose private life was defiled by the 
grossest immorality, and whose heart burned with such a de- 
moniacal hatred of Him who came down from heaven and 
voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross for the salvation 
of sinners, that he adopted as his watchword on all occa- 
sions those awful words, " Ecrasez l'infame !" — Crush the 



CH. XXVII. INFIDELITY. 219 

wretch! that is, "Crush Christ; crush the Christian reli- 
gion !" Such was the language and the feeling of that or- 
ganized band of infidels, who in the eaHier part of last 
century associated in the impious attempt to subvert Chris- 
tianity. 

England had been already disgraced by the writings of 
some unbelievers; but the works of Herbert and Boling- 
broke, of Collins and Tindal, had produced little effect on the 
good sense and religious principles of the English nation. 
The clergy effectually exposed their errors, and they became 
the objects of popular hatred ; but they were unhappily des- 
tined to find a more congenial soil in France. 

Voltaire was born in Paris in 1694, and lived to the age of 
eighty-four, dying in the year 1778. He was endowed with 
great natural abilities, quickness, versatility, wit ; with a re- 
markable power of sarcasm ; and a pointed, easy, and fluent 
style, which was unrestrained by any principles of truth or 
decency. While he was at college, he manifested so scepti- 
cal a spirit, that his preceptor one day said to him, " Unfor- 
tunate young man, at some future time you will become the 
standard bearer of infidelity. " After he had left college, he 
associated only with persons of infamous morals ; and having 
published some infidel opinions, which gave offence to the 
ruling powers of France, he retired to England, where he be- 
came acquainted with several unbelievers like himself. Here 
he formed his resolution to destroy Christianity; and on his 
return to Paris, in 1730, he made no secret of his design and 
his hopes. " I am weary," he would say, " of hearing peo- 
ple repeat that twelve men were sufficient to establish Chris- 
tianity. I will prove that one may suffice to overthrow it." 

In order to accomplish his design, Voltaire found it neces- 
sary to obtain the assistance of several coadjutors : of these 
D'Alembert was the chief. He was remarkable for his crafty 
cunning, which enabled him to insinuate infidelity in the most 
plausible and least offensive manner. His expressions were 
generally moderate ; while Voltaire used to express his wish 



220 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVII. 

that he might " die on a heap of Christians immolated at his 
feet/*' Another associate was Frederick II., king of Prussia, 
a great general and statesman, but a shallow philosopher. He 
was in continual correspondence with Voltaire ; compliment- 
ed him on being the " scourge of religion;" and plotted for 
its destruction. Diderot was another coadjutor of Voltaire, 
who with D* Alembert devoted themselves even till death to the 
pursuit of their unhallowed design. 

I have already spoken of the watchword of this associa- 
tion, the object of which was the overthrow of every altar 
where Christ was worshipped. It was not merely the Galli- 
can or Roman doctrine which was marked out for destruc- 
tion. In the latter part of his career, Voltaire exulted at the 
dissemination of Hume's infidel principles in England, and at 
the prospect of the fall of the Church of England, exclaim- 
ing with delight, that " in London Christ was spurned." On 
another occasion, he rejoiced that " in Geneva, Calvin's own 
town," but few believers remained. 

Voltaire invited men to forsake their religion by promising 
them liberty of thought. He declared, that iC nothing was 
so contemptible and miserable in his eyes, as to see one man 
have recourse to another in matters of faith, or to ask what 
he ought to believe." Reason, liberty, and philosophy, were 
continually in the mouths of Voltaire and D'Alembert. 
Their adherents represented them as " devoutly waiting for 
those days when the sun should shine only on free men, ac- 
knowledging no oilier master but their own reason." Voltaire 
had but little of the spirit of martyrdom : his continual exhor- 
tation to the conspirators was, to " strike, but conceal their 
hands;" that is, to write anonymously. " The monster" 
(Christianity,) he said, " must fall, pierced by a hundred in- 
visible hands; yes, let it fall beneath a thousand repeated 
blows." In accordance with this advice, the press swarmed 
with anonymous publications of the most impious character. 
The principal mode of propagating infidelity was the publica- 
tion of the celebrated Encyclopedia, of which D'Alembert 



CH. XXVII. INFIDELITY. 221 

was the editor, and which was to contain so perfect an assem- 
blage of all the arts and sciences, as to render all other books 
superfluous. The utmost caution was used in insinuating 
infidel principles, lest the design should be detected, and 
crushed by the hand of power. All the principal articles on 
religion were written in such a manner as to avoid offence ; 
while by means of references at the conclusion of each, the 
reader was directed to places where open infidelity was taught. 
Irreligion and atheism were inculcated even in articles on 
chemistry, or other sciences, where their existence could not 
be suspected. 

When this work was completed, it obtained an immense 
circulation. Numberless editions were printed, in each of 
which, under pretence of correction, more impiety was intro- 
duced. In one of these, a respectable and learned divine, 
M. Bergier, was persuaded into writing the part which treat- 
ed of religion, lest it should fall into the hands of unbeliev- 
ers ; but it was easy to foresee what actually happened : his 
name conferred respectability on the book, while all its other 
articles teemed with the most dreadful impiety and blas- 
phemy. 

Infidelity now rapidly spread through France, and through 
every part of the continent of Europe ; several of the crown- 
ed heads were more or less favourable. The Empress of 
Russia, the Kings of Prussia, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, and 
all the princes of Germany, were either admirers of Voltaire 
or avowed infidels. The abominable licentiousness of the 
court of France assisted the conspiracy : the French ministry, 
tainted with infidelity, refused to put the laws in force for the 
suppression of blasphemous, infidel, and immoral publica- 
tions, which now issued in a flood from the press. The most 
eminent scientific men, and the most popular writers of 
France, such as Buffon, Lalande, Marmontel, Rousseau, were 
unbelievers. It is awful to contemplate the excess of wicked- 
ness at which these men had arrived. The history of this 
time relates, that " above all the adepts did a fiend named Con- 

19* 



222 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVII. 

dorcet hate the Son of God. At the very name of the Dei- 
ty the monster raged ! And it appeared as if he wished to 
revenge on Heaven the heart it had given him." Infidelity 
had widely spread among the higher orders; it was now to 
be disseminated amongst the lowest. Infidel and blasphemous 
tracts were printed in myriads, and circulated profusely in all 
parts. Diderot and D'Alembert disputed on Christianity in 
the coffee-rooms of Paris; and the pretended advocate of 
Christianity took care always to be defeated. 

It is lamentable to add, that the clergy of the Roman com- 
munion were not universally to be found on the side of Chris- 
tianity. The ecclesiastical patronage of the state, indeed, 
was too often exercised for the subversion of religion. The 
Abbe Barruel observes, with reference to France, that " the 
enemies of the Church possessed themselves of its avenues, 
to prevent the preferment of those whose virtues or learning 
they dreaded. When the bishops wished to repel an unwor- 
thy member, Choiseul, the infidel minister, replied, ' such are 
the men we want and will have. 5 " Cardinal de Brienne, 
archbishop of Toulouse, was a friend of D'Alembert, and 
became an open apostate from religion. He was followed by 
the bishops of Autun, Viviers, Orleans, Lydda, Babylon, &c. 
In the infidel association of the " Illuminati" were many 
priests, and even a high dignitary of the German Church. 
The names of the Abbes Raynal, De Prades, Condillac, De 
Leire, Morrelet, Terray, Marsy, &c, are unhappily but too 
well known as connected with infidelity. Numbers of Jaco- 
bin and infidel priests were also found in Italy, Spain, and 
other parts of the Continent. The majority, however, of the 
Roman clergy throughout. Europe retained their faith, and, 
under the most grievous afflictions and persecutions for the 
name of Christ, evinced an increased measure of zeal and 
piety. 

Voltaire was received with a sort of popular triumph at 
Paris in 1778 ; but very shortly after, this enemy of God and 
man expired in the most dreadful torments of agony and re- 



CH. XXVII. INFIDELITY. 223 

morse. His associates did not long survive him ; but the 
seed which they had sown was now to produce its bitter fruit. 

All religious and all moral principle being now extinguish- 
ed, and every passion of man's nature being left without con- 
trol, human society perished amidst the horrors of the 
French Revolution of 1789. Amidst rebellion, anarchy, 
plunder, desolation, famine, massacre, and every imaginable 
evil, the reign of infidelity commenced. The worship and 
ministry of Christianity were proscribed, and God was no 
longer acknowledged. Then was beheld the woful spectacle 
of bishops and priests hastening to the infidel assembly of 
France, casting from them the ensigns of their ministry, and 
proclaiming themselves no longer believers in God. 7 The 
Roman Church, scourged for her sins, and especially for that 
spirit of pride which resists all efforts for the removal of 
superstitions, beheld her pope despoiled of his territories, and 
the captive of Buonaparte ; her revenues plundered in France 
and Italy; her monasteries suppressed; her bishops driven 
from their sees into exile, or dying beneath the guillotine ; her 
clergy perishing by the hand of the executioner, or by more 
wholesale massacre. She beheld faith vanishing away, and 
a generation of men arising without religion. 

Although the return of peace and order has been favoura- 
ble to the restoration of Christianity, and though additional 
fervour may have been added to faith so s'orely tried and af- 
flicted, yet it is certain that the effects of the infidel conspiracy 
of last century have been deep and lasting. It is true, indeed,, 
that Christianity has for many years past been less directly 
assailed ; that infidelity may have been less industriously pro- 
pagated; but still an infidel and perverse generation lives 
without God in the world ; and in France, more especially, 
the prevalence of this deadly evil is so great, that an eloquent 
ecclesiastic of that nation (La Mennais) some years since 
declared, that " the state to which we are approaching is one 
of the signs by which will be recognised that last war an- 
nounced by Jesus Christ : ( nevertheless, when the Son of 



224 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVII. 

man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?' " " What," 
said he, " do you perceive every where but a profound indif- 
ference as to duties and creeds, with an unbridled love of 
pleasure and of gold, by means of which any thing can be 
obtained ? All is bought, for all is sold ; conscience, honour, 
religion, opinions, dignities, power, consideration, even re- 
spect : a vast shipwreck of all truths and all virtues." In- 
difference, total indifference to religion ; the uttermost neg- 
lect and contempt of Christianity, as a thing unworthy of 
examination, are the characteristics of modern infidelity in 
France. 

In Germany the spirit of unbelief assumes the name of 
Rationalism, and pretends to respect the character of Christ ; 
while, under the guise of Christianity, it boldly subjects the 
revelation of God to the judgment and criticisms of man's 
reason, rejects all that is incomprehensible by our limited 
faculties, deprives the Gospel of all its peculiar and divinely 
revealed doctrines, tramples in contempt on the universal 
belief of all Christians from the beginning, arraigns the 
Scriptures themselves falsehood and folly; and leaves the 
mind at last without one particle of Christian faith or hope. 
This destructive system arose among the Protestants of Ger- 
many after the middle of the last century. It has unhappily 
become almost universally prevalent amongst them. 

Though England has, through the infinite mercy of God, 
been comparatively unvisited by the scourges which have so 
terribly afflicted the nations of the Continent, and though 
open infidelity has been always met, confronted, and subdued 
by the energy of religious zeal, it cannot but inspire alarm to 
behold the wide dissemination of principles which tend, by a 
very short descent, to the overthrow of all faith. Such ap- 
pears to be the character of that most erroneous notion, that 
sincerity is the only test of religion ; so that he who per- 
suades himself that he is right in his faith, believes all that is 
necessary for his salvation : for if this be true, it cannot be 
necessary to believe any particular doctrine of Christianity ; 



CH. XXVIII. CONCLUSION. 225 

it cannot be necessary to prefer Christ to Mahomet ; and be* 
lief in Christ cannot be (as the Gospel says it is) the condi- 
tion on which men shall be saved. How true is it that the 
Evil one clothes himself as an angel of light ! In the last 
century infidelity appeared under the specious garb of philoso- 
phy and freedom of thought : it. is now insinuating itself un- 
der the disguise of charity, kindness, and liberality. All 
modes of faith are treated with impartial favour, all are re- 
garded as equally true; and the hour may be at hand, when 
the necessary conclusion will be drawn, that they are all 
equally false. There is much in the spirit of the age to 
threaten such lamentable results ; — a spirit of insatiable in- 
quiry, not always accompanied by modesty or patience; a 
thirst for novelty; a superficial information; the adoration 
of intellect and of knowledge ; and the exclusive devotion of 
men to sciences which relate to merely material objects. All 
combine to show the dangers to which belief is exposed ; and 
to warn the Church of God that renewed watchfulness, and 
humility, and zeal, are more than ever imperatively called for. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CONCLUSION. 



We have now briefly traced the progress of the Church of 
Christ through eighteen centuries of its varied existence. 
In the midst of temptations and dangers, the ark of eternal 
truth has still been preserved by an Almighty hand. That 
"city set on an hill," that "ensign" which was once "set 
up to the Gentiles," has never been concealed. The Church 
has always continued to preach "Christ crucified" as the Sa- 
viour of the world, and to urge the necessity of believing and 
obeying his words ; and amidst the existing diversities of re- 
ligious doctrine it will be found, that all those churches which 



226 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVIII. 

have not arisen from schism or voluntary separation from the 
universal Church, agree to a very great extent in their be- 
lief. In proof of this, it may be observed, that the three 
creeds, called the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian, 
are accepted and approved equally by the Greek or Oriental, 
the British, and the Roman Churches, as well as by the re- 
lics of the foreign reformation. The same doctrines which 
were universally received in the second century are still so 
in the nineteenth. All Churches believe, and with one mouth 
confess, one God, who created the world by his only-begotten 
Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who being co-eternal with the 
Father, and of equal glory, and power, and majesty, came 
down from heaven and became man for our salvation, and 
in his human nature suffered death on the cross, and as- 
cended into heaven, making an eternal and all-sufficient atone- 
ment and intercession for us. All believe that the condition 
of man by nature is such, that he is unable without the aid 
of Divine grace to turn to God and become pleasing and ac- 
ceptable to him ; that to sinful man Divine grace is given by 
the free and unmerited mercy of God ; and that he is enabled 
by the sanctifying influences of the eternal Spirit of God, the 
third person in the most blessed Trinity, to triumph over the 
sins and infirmities of his nature, and to become sanctified by 
faith and the love of God, bringing forth the fruits of obe- 
dience. All believe that we shall give an account of our 
works at the last judgment, when the righteous shall be re- 
warded with life eternal, and the wicked consigned to ever- 
lasting fire. The holy Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
tament are universally acknowledged to be the word of God, 
given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The sacraments 
instituted by Christ are celebrated amongst all nations ; and 
the same Christian ministry has descended by successive or- 
dinations of bishops from the time of the apostles to the pre- 
sent day. Such is the substantial and real agreement in 
doctrine which exists between Churches which arc in some 
respects dissentient from each other. Their differences 



CH. XXVIII. CONCLUSION. 227 

turn chiefly on doctrines and practices not taught by our 
Lord, but which some men in later ages have imagined to be 
deducible from revelation, or to be allowable and justifiable. 
Questions as to the truth and lawfulness of such doctrines and 
practices divide the Christian Churches ; but it will probably 
be found that no article of the faith, no doctrine clearly and 
distinctly revealed by our Lord, is denied by any of these 
Churches. 

It may be added, that many even of the sectaries or schis- 
matics, who have voluntarily forsaken the Church, still main- 
tain the great mass of Christian doctrine, however destitute 
they may be of Christian charity. 

The union of the Christian Church, flowing from a common 
faith, and hope, and charity, was indeed enjoined and urged 
by our blessed Lord and Saviour ; but no promise was given 
that the Church should at all times be united in external com- 
munion. The divisions which have for a long time existed, 
arose chiefly, if not entirely, from the mistaken notions of the 
papal authority entertained by the popes and their adherents 
during the eleventh and following centuries. If it should 
please God to open the eyes of Romanists to their error on 
this point, we might have some reason to hope for the ap- 
proach of those happy days predicted in holy Scripture, when 
" Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex 
Ephraim." On the doctrine of the papal supremacy the whole 
mass of superstitions which we deplore to see in the Roman 
communion essentially depends. It is this doctrine which leads 
Romanists to view the Oriental and British Churches separated 
from the true Church ; and which renders it equally impos- 
sible for those Churches to hope for the restoration of general 
harmony and union. 

And while we lament the disunion of the Christian Church, 
we have also to deplore the multitude of abuses and errors 
which in many parts of the world choke the good seed and 
make it unfruitful. Superstitions which arose " while men 
slept," still continue, almost unchecked and unresisted, to 



228 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. CH. XXVIII. 

prevail. The ignorant are in many Churches left exposed 
to the danger of honouring the creature instead of the Crea- 
tor, by the worship of images, and the invocation of saints. 
On all sides there is much of infirmity, of imperfection, and 
of sin. Every Church and every age has its temptations 
and its faults. At one peried there may be a tendency to 
superstition ; at another, a tendency to self-confidence, spirit- 
ual pride, or irreverence. Those who are ready to reject all 
usurped authority in religion, may not be altogether free from 
a spirit of pride, and a disposition to resist even legitimate 
rule. A fear of bigotry and enthusiasm may sometimes be 
found united with slothfulness and indifference. To every 
Church and every individual, the apostolic precept, " Be not 
high minded, but fear," should be the subject of continual 
meditation and prayer. It is only in this spirit that we should 
ever dwell on the faults of others, or on the blessings which 
the mercy of God has vouchsafed to bestow on ourselves. 

But, amidst our sorrows for the numerous evils with which 
the sin and infirmity of human nature have afflicted the 
Church, we are consoled by the perpetuity of the Church it- 
self, and by the many examples of Christian sanctity which 
have in every age adorned our holy faith. Nothing can more 
powerfully prove to us the presence of God with his Church, 
than the lives of those men whom Divine grace has trans- 
formed into the image of Christ. There is in true religion a 
reality which comes home to the heart of every one ; which 
stimulates the feeblest faith, and animates the most languid 
charity. 



tiie end. 



QUESTIONS ON PALMER'S COMPENDIOUS ECCLESIASTICAL 
HISTORY. 

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. 

Page. Question. 

1 1. What impressive lesson;is derived from the history of the world ? 

2. What counteracting tendency is visible in the history of the Church ? 

3. How has true religion essentially been always the same ? 

2 4. With what inclinations has it had to contend ? 
5. What is the life of a true Christian ? 

3 6. How is the Church of Christ described in Scripture ? 

7. What external trials was it to endure ? 

8. What dangers from heretical teachers ? 

4 9. What has saved the Church from destruction ? 

10. What promises have been given by the Saviour ? 

11. In what respects does the History of the Church diner from other 

histories, and what proofs of the truth of Christianity are thereby 
afforded ? 

12. Into how many periods may it be divided ? 

6 13. Give the limits and character of the 1st period? 

14. " " 2nd " 

15. " " 3rd " 

16. " " 4th " 

17. " " 5th " 



CHAPTER II. — EARLY PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. — A. D. 30 — 320. 

6 1. To what is the Church compared in Scripture? 

2. How has the event corresponded with the predictions ? 

3. What commission did Christ give, and when? 

4. How many disciples were assembled after our Lord's ascension? 

5. How was their number increased, and when? 

6. To what city was it as yet confined ? 

7 7. What good effect had the persecution at Jerusalem? give the date ? 

8. Whither was Christianity extended ? 

9. What effect had the preaching of St. Paul upon the Gentiles? des- 

cribe his journeys : What is the date of his martyrdom? 

8 10. Where did the other apostles labour? 

11. To whom does St. Peter address his 1st Epistle? Whence does he 

date it? 

12. What Church did St. Mark found ? 

13. What other countries are said to have been visited? 

14. What is the testimony of Tacitus, and the date? 

9 15. What is the language and the date of the letter of Pliny ? 

16. Give the testimony of Justin Martyr : of Irenaeus : of Tertullian : 
and their respective dates ? 
10 17. What nations were converted during the next century? 
18. Wno was the first Christian Emperor ? 



CHAPTER IH.— OF THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

10 1. What did the promises of Christ to his disciples imply? 
2. What conclusion may we hence derive ? 

11 3. What weight is due to the confession of Irenaeus? 

4. What are the doctrines he sets forth ? 

5. How does he say they were received by the Church of his day ? 

20 



230 QUESTIONS ON PALMER^ COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

11 6. Show their agreement with the Apostles' and Nicene creed? 

12 7. What says Pliny as to the worship of Christ ? 

8. What does the condemnation of heretics illustrate? 

9. How were Theodotus and Artemon treated at Rome? the date? 

10. How was Paul of Samosata treated at Antioch? the date ? 

11. What does the Epistle of the Synod state? 

12. What was the error of Praxeas, Noetus, and Sabellius j and how 

was it received by the Church? the date? 

13 13. What were the heresies of the Gnostics, and Manichaeans? 



CHAPTER IV. — FRUITS OF FAITH I MARTYRS. 

1. How has the power of true faith been especially exhibited 2 

2. What hope encouraged them? 

3. What afflictions did they endure? 

14 4. Who were their earliest enemies? 

5. Who was the first great persecutor ? the date ? 

6. What is the description given by Tacitus ? 

7. What punishments were inflicted? 

15 8. How did the heathen regard the steadfastness of the sufferers? 
9. What Apostles perished in this persecution? 

10. Under what emperor was the next persecution? the date? 

11. What befell the Apostle St. John? 

12. What other persecutions took place ? 

13. Which of these was the most severe ? 

16 14. What is the date of the martyrdom of Polycarp? 

15. What account have we of it? 

16. Did he flee from persecution? 

17. How did he behave when arrested? 

18 18. What was the character of his prayer? 

19. What was he persuaded to offer : and how was he treated on refusing? 

20. How was he received in the amphitheatre ? 

21. What did the proconsul tell him to do? 

22. What was his reply? 

18 23. How long had he been a Christian? 

24. What did he say of future punishment ? 

25. How was his confession received by the multitude 2 

19 26. To what death was he sentenced? 

27. Who especially aided in his execution? 

28. For what did he give thanks to God, when at the stake? 

29. What confession did he make in this prayer? 

20 30. What appearance is said to have been exhibited at his death j and 

how may it be accounted for ? 

31. What did his enemies endeavour to prevent ? 

32. What does the epistle teach as to the worship of Christ? 

33. Name some other martyrs for the truth? 



CHAPTER V. FRUITS OF FAITH : LIVES OF CHRISTIANS. 

21 1. Was the profession of faith easy at this time ? 

2. What was the effect on the true followers of Christ? 

3. What has been the result of the cessation of persecution? 

4. What has increased in later ages ? 

5. What was evidenced in the lives of the early Christians? 

22 6. Give the testimony of Justin Martyr? 
7. How did Christians show their charity? 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 231 

Page. Question. 

22 8. How often was the Holy Eucharist administered ? 
9. What does Tertullian say of christian marriages ? 

10. Between whom only ought they to be contracted ? 

11. What is said of St. Ignatius? his date? 

23 12. Of Justin Martyr? of Polycarp? the dates? 

13. Of Irenseus? his date ? 

14. Of Tertullian? Clement of Alexandria? Origen? Cyprian? Dionvsius? 

15. How long are miracles said to have continued ? 



CHAPTER VI. — COMMUNION, RITES AND DISCIPLINE. 

24 1 . What precept is especially inculcated in Scripture ? 

2. What duty hence arises as to Church Communion ? 

3. How did the Apostles regard schism? 

4. When did Church Communion exist in greatest perfection? 

5. How was it manifested in the days of the Apostles? 

6. Did it continue after their decease ? 

25 7. What were letters commendatory? 

8. Why was the Epistle of St. Clement of Rome written? 

9. What other epistles are mentioned ? 

10. What does Dionysius say of the Church of Rome in the 2nd century ? 

11. What is the testimony of Dionysius of Alexandria in the next century? 

12. What instances of contention are there even in the times of the 

Apostles ? 

13. State the particulars of the contest concerning Easter; and when 

it happened ? 

26 14. State the difference between Stephen of Rome and the African 

Churches ? 

15. What was the result of this difference ? 

16. What was the difference between these dissensions and formal 

schisms ? 

17. What was the effect of each? 

18. What was the Novatian schism and when did it happen ? 

19. What was the Donatist schism? when? how long did it last? 

27 20. How were these separations regarded in the early church? 

21. Of what does Justin Martyr give a full account ? 

22. What qualifications does he mention for baptism ? 

23. What does he call baptism and those baptized ? 

24. What does he say of the mode of baptism? 

25. How were all converts made members of the Christian Church? 

26. What was done when infants were baptized ? 

27. How early at least was the practice of infant baptism ? 

28. What was the question in Cyprian's time ? 

28 29. Were infants admitted to circumcision ? 

30. What did our Lord do to little children ? 

31. What is said of households in the New Testament ? 

32. What conclusion did the church draw therefrom? 

33. What rite followed baptism ? 

34. What did the apostles do to those baptized ? 

35. What does Tertullian say of it ? 

36. Why was confirmation generally administered soon after baptism ? 

37. What does Justin say of assemblies for public worship ? 

29 38. What is said of the consecration of the bread and wine ? 

39. What was done with it when consecrated ? 

40. What name was given it, and who only were permitted to receive it? 

41. How did the Christians receive and regard it? 

42. What does he say of the institution of this sacrament ? 



232 QUESTIONS ON PALMER^S COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

30 43. Whom did they bless in their offerings ? 

44. How did they observe Sunday ? 

45. What collections did they make, and for what purpose ? 

46. Why did they assemble on Sunday ? 

47. What confession of faith was made previous to baptism ? 

48. What did Philip require of the Eunuch? 

49. How ancient are creeds ? the Apostles' ? the Nicene ? 

31 50. How many liturgies were there in the 4th century ? 

51. Where were they severally employed ? 

52. What power had each church ? 

53. Which liturgy does the English and American most resemble ? 

54. What was the nature of penitence for secret sins? 

55. What penitence did the Church require for public ones ? 

32 56. What was the discipline observed ? 

57. What was done when the time was finished ? 

58. What was the office of the penitentiary ? when instituted ? 

59. Why was it discontinued and when? 

33 60. Of what orders did the ministry instituted by the Apostles consist ? 

61. What does Irenaeus say on the subject? 

62. Where was Timothy placed ? where Titus ? 

63. For how long was episcopal government only recognized ? 

64. Which were the chief sees ? 

65. How were all bishoprics regarded as to spiritual authority? 

66. How were the clergy appointed ? 

67. What was ordination ? 

68. How was the bishop aided ? what did he administer ? 

34 69. What was administered to the dying? 



CHAPTER VII. THE SIX OECUMENICAL SYNODS. A. J). 320 680. 

1. What dangers assailed the Church when persecution ceased ? 

2. What arch heretic first arose ? the date ? 

3. How long did Arianism disturb the Church? 

4. What was the doctrine it taught ? 

35 5. Of whom did the council at Nice consist ? the date ? 

6. What was the decree pronounced ? 

7. What creed was then established and how was it received? 

8. What did the Arians now strive to effect ? 

9. Who was the chief object of their hostility : of what was he ac- 

cused ? 
10. What did the Meletians allege against him ? 

36 11. When was the Synod of Tyre held, and for what purpose? 

12. Whither was Athanasius banished ? 

13. What was the end of Arius ? 

14. What became of Athanasius under Constantms ? 

37 15. To whom did he appeal ? 

16. When was the council of Sardica held, and what did it decide? 

17, Relate the restoration of Athanasius ? 

38 18. Why were the Synods of Aries and Milan held, and where ? 
19. What remarkable escape had Athanasius ? 

39 20. When was the council of Ariminumheld ? what creed was there 

proposed ? what temporary triumph was gained ? 

21. What did France and Italy declare ? 

22. What was done in Egypt about the same time ? 

23. What happened under Julian ? 

40 24. Describe the final triumph of the Nicene faith ? 

25. To what was Arianism indebted for its temporary power? 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 238 

Page Question. 

41 26. What heresy next arose ? 

27. In what council was it condemned ? when ? 

28. What other heresies broke out ? 

29. What heathen countries were converted ? 

30. What trouoles now arose ? where ? 

42 31 . Who invaded Africa ? 

32. What was the influence on learning ? 

33. What did Pelagius teach ? where did he live ? 

34. How were his doctrines generally regarded ? 

35. What did the council of Carthage decree ? when ? 

43 36. Who was Nestorius ? what did he teach ? 

37. When was the council of Ephesus held ? what did it decree ? 

44 38. Wheredid the Nestorians establish themselves? 

39. What error did Eutyches teach, who supported him ? 

40. When was the council of Chalcedon held : of how many bishops 

did.it consist? 

41. What decree did it pass? 

42. What name is given to the adherents of Dioscorus ? 

45 43. What conversions took place about this time ? 

44. By whom was Ireland converted ? 

45. What Frank monarch received baptism ? when ? 

46. What controversy now arose in the East ? 

47. Where was the 5th (Ecumenical Synod held ? 

46 48. What mission was sent to Britain ? by whom ? when ? 

49. Did the ancient British Church still subsist ? 

50. WTiat was the Monothelite heresy? who were its principal sup- 

porters ? 

47 51. What was the 6th (Ecumenical Synod ? when held? 

52. What is said of Honorius of Rome ? 

53. What is to be observed of subsequent Synods? 

54. What impostor now arose in the East? the date ? 

55. What became of the Church in Africa ? 

56. Has Christianity survived in the East ? 

48 67. What European nations were converted ? by whom ? 



CHAPTER Vni. FRUITS OF FAITH. SAINTS AND MARTYRS. 

1. How has the promise of Christ been thus far verified ? 

49 2. Into what two classes may the holy men of this period be divided ? 

3. Who first exhibited the monastic life ? 

4. Is it easy to appreciate justly the ascetic system of this age ? 

5. What influence has the world upon the heart ? 

50 6. What was the practice of many of the early Christians ? 

7. What was the life they led ? 

8. What was their intention in so doing ? 

51 9. Of what country was Antony ? when did he live ? 
10. Relate some particulars of his life ? 

52 11. What is said of his humility and learning? of his charity? 
12. How did he regard Arianism? 

53 13. What did he say of his burial? 

14. What were the rules of the monasteries? 

54 15. In what E. countries did this institution spread ? 

16. By whom was it introduced into the W. f 

17. What duties were fulfilled by those who entered into it ? 

55 18. Into what errors did Eustathius fall? 

19. What was the conduct of Simeon Stylites ? his character ? 

56 20 Give an account of Hilary of Poictiers : of Eusebius of Vercellae : 

20* 



234 QUESTIONS ON PALMER'S COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

56 20. of Lucifer of Cagliari: Eusebius of Csesarea : Cyril of Jerusalem ? 

57 21. What at first was the profession of St. Martin of Tours? 

22. How is it said he was converted? 

23. How did he behave among the robbers? 

24. How did he conduct himself as bishop? 

58 25. How did he treat the emperor Maximus? 

26. Give some account of Basil : of what place was he bishop ? 

59 How was he distinguished against the Arians? 

27. Also of Gregory of Nazianzum: of what places was he bishop? 

60 28. Who was Ambrose ? of what see was he archbishop ? what was his 

character? how did he resist Theodosius? 

61 29. For what was St. John Chrysostom distinguished? of what see was 

he bishop ? why was he deposed ? where did he die ? 

62 30. Give some account of Jerome. 

31. Of what country was Augustine a native? what was his early life ? 

how was he converted ? of what see was he bishop ? for what is 

63 he celebrated ? 

32. Against what parties did Cyril of Alexandria, and Leo of Rome 

contend ? 

33. Who was St. Benedict? 



CHAPTER IX. UNITY AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH- 

1. What christian Church early obtained distinction? why? 

64 2. What constituted the patriarchate of Rome? by whom approved ? 

3. What power did the council of Sardica give this see? was it gene- 

rally approved of? 

4. What encroachment was made in the 4th century? in the 5th and 

in the 6th? 

5. What pretence was set up for this claim? 

65 6. How was the asking of its advice interpreted ? 

7. Did any good effects result from the influence of this see ? 

8. What was forbidden in the third general council? 

9. How did this apply to the case of Britain? 

66 10. W T hat rival see now rose into dignity? what were the several steps? 

11. Who were the other patriarchs? 

12. Was the Communion of the Church interrupted? in what cases? 

67 Athanasius? Chrysostom? Acacius? 5th Synod ? 

13. What dispute arose between the British and Roman churches? 

14. What effect had these withdrawals of communion? 

68 J5. What principle was still kept in view? 



CHAPTER X. RISE OF ABUSES AND CORRUPTIONS. 

68 1. Into what did the faith of the early christians sometimes degener- 

ate: the causes? 
2. How did the invocation of saints arise ? 

69 3. When was it first introduced into litanies ? 

4. How were the relics of saints and martyrs regarded ? 

5. What abuses hence arose ? 

6. When were they placed in churches ? 

70 7. What were pilgrimages ? 

8. What effect had they on the ancient discipline ? 

9. What use was made of pictures and sculpture? 

10. W^at did Epiphanius? Serenus ? Gregory the great? in relation to 
them. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 235 

Page. Question. 

71 11. What was the earliest miraculous gift in the Church? why ? 

12 What language did each nation employ in worship ? give examples ? 
13. Why was the Latin language used in the west ? 

72 14. Where was it erroneonsly used ? 

15. What evil effect had its adoption ? 

16. What was the rule of the E. churches in relation to the marriage 

of the clergy? 

17. When was it first prohibited in the W. church? and when finally 

73 enforced ? 

18. What was the opinion of the early church as to the righteous after 

death? 

19. What prayers did they offer? why ? 

20. State the opinion of Origen ? of Augustine ? 

21. What view did Gregory the Great hold ? how was it received? 

74 22. When was the doctrine of purgatory declared an article of faith? 



CHAPTER XI. — PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 680 — 1054. 

1. What was the general state of things during this period? 

2. Was the authority of the laws regarded ? 

3. What incursions were made by barbarous nations ? 

4. Are we able to discern the fulfilment of Christ's promise and how ? 

75 5. What progress did the Saracens make ? 

6. Did they extirpate Christianity in the countries conquered ? 

7. Where did Boniface labour ? 

8. How was Bavaria converted ? 

9. What other countries received the gospel ? 

76 10. How did Charlemagne extend it ? 

11. What N. nations were converted? 

12. What missions were carried on by the E. Church? 

13. Give some account of the conversion of Russia? 

14. — — of the Normans : of Poland ? 

77 15. — — of Hungary? 



CHAPTER XII. FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

1. What doctrines were still universally believed ? 

2. What is said of Elipandus ? 

3. Of the Paulicians ? 

78 4. Of Berengarius ? 

5. How were the Scriptures regarded ? 

6. What was the chief controversy? 

7. What superstitions prevailed in relation to images ? 

8. What Greek emperors opposed them ? 

79 9. What synod condemned their use ? 

10. How were they used in the W. Church at this time ? 

11. What did the synod at Nice decree? 

12. How did the E. and W. Churches receive this decree ? 

13. How do their historians speak of this synod ? 

80 14. What was the course of the bishops of Rome ? 

15. What was the intention of the Church in allowing the use of images ? 

16. Why were they removed at the Reformation ? 

17. What was the opinion of Agobard? 

18. What was the doctrine of the Church in relation to the Eucharist? 

19. What view did Paschasius Ratbert hold ? 

81 20. What errors did Scotus fall into ? 



236 QUESTIONS ON PALMER J S COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

81 21. To what Churches was this controversy confined ? 

22. What was the practice as to private confession ? 

23. What views were held concerning its necessity? 

82 24. What did the council of Cavaillon acknowledge? 

25. What does Gratian say? 

26. What did the council of Lateran direct ? 

27. What did many Romish writers still maintain? 

83 28. What did the council of Trent decree ? 



CHAPTER XIII. FRUITS OF FAITH. 

1. What difficulties did religion suffer under ? 

2. What usurpations and desecrations of Church revenues ensued ? 

3. With what were bishops and monasteries often invested ? where? 

4. Were churches and monasteries always respected? 

5. What was the effect on learning ? 

84 6. Were these evils always regarded with unconcern? 

7. What was the language of Hervey and his fellow bishops? what 
does he say of the clergy ? of the laity ? 

85 8. WTiat are the characteristics of the religion of this period ? 
9. What efforts were made for the heathen ? 

10. What was the conduct of many monarchs? 

86 11. Who was Beda? state his learning — his works — his virtues — his 

letter to Egbert — his views as to the communion — his death — 

87 what did he translate ? 

12. Give an account of Luitprand — 

13. — — — Carloman — 

88 14. — — — Charlemagne — of his zeal for religion — his cha- 

rity — 
15. — — — the emperor Louis. 

89 16. Who was St. Boniface ? where did he labour ? why did he go to 

Rome ? what proof is there of his courage ? how did he esteem 
the Scriptures? 

90 17. What was he made afterwards? what council did he hold ? 

18. What were his views of his office ? 

19. To what country did he afterwards go ? what was his success ? 

91 20. Give an account of his death? 

21. — — — of Gregory: how did he treat the robbers ? show 

92 his charity ? his faith and devotion ? 

22. Give an account of Lebuin ? his boldness for the truth? 

93 23. What remarkable instance of martyrdom is related? 

94 24. State the advice of Lupus to Godeschalch? 

25. — the instructions of the council of Pavia? 

26. How were the people instructed ? 

27. What did Jonas recommend ? 

28. For what was Wolfgang distinguished ? 

95 29. Who was Fidus? give some examples of his zeal? 

30. Who was Alfred ? show his reputation — his charity — his zeal for 
religion — his study of the Scriptures ? 

96 31. How did he restore" learning ? what school did he encourage ? what 

works did he translate ? 
32. What does he say of the ignorance of the people ? 

97 33. How was his piety tried ? 

34. Give some account of Nilus — his mode of life — 

98 35. his humility — his meekness — his poverty — 

99 36. his view of rites — of the proper subjects of inquiry — his freedom 

from ambition — the honors he received from the pope ? ¥ 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 237 



Page. Question. 

100 37. For what did he censure his monks? 

38. Why did he not seek the company of the great ? 



CHAPTER XIV ABUSES AND CORRUPTIONS. 

1. What were the effects of the ignorance and disorder of this period? 

101 2. What is said of the invocation of saints ? 

3. To what was the ignorance of religion in a great degree owing? 

4. What means of instruction still existed? 

5. What attention was paid to the Eucharist ? 

6. What parable of our Lord was now illustrated ? 

102 7. What was the condition of the monasteries ? 

8. What is said of Odo ? 

9. What effect had the temporal possessions granted to the clergy ? 
10. What interference of princes was caused? 

103 11. What authority did the bishops assume ? 

12. State the case of Wamba : of Louis le Debonnaire ? 

13. Of Adrian II. and Charles the Bald : of Gregory IV.? 

14. For what causes were excommunications granted ? 

15. What forgery was now devised ? 

104 16. What was the purport of these epistles? 

17. By whom were they supported ? 

18. What injury to the discipline of Churches was occasioned ? 



CHAPTER XV. DIVISION OF E. AND W. CHURCHES. 

1. What part did the popes take in the image controversy? 

2. What did the E. emperors do ? 

105 3. What was the effect ? 

4. What was the view of the W. Church generally ? 

5. What dispute arose in the 9th century? 

6. State the case of Photius ? 

7. How was the matter settled ? 

106 8. What new controversy arose in the 11th century? 
9. How was it occasioned ? 

10. What did the legate of Rome demand? 

11. What was the result ? 



CHAPTER XVI. PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 1054 1517. 

1. What are the characteristics of this period ? 

107 2. What spirit pervaded the Romish see ? 

3. What works were still carried on ? 

4. Who was Boleslaus ? whom did he invite ? 

5. What measures did Otto take ? . 

6. Where did he first go ? how was he received ? 

108 7. Describe his exhortations : his mode of baptism? 

109 8. What instructions did he give his converts? 

10. Whither did he afterwards proceed ? 

11. State his boldness at Stetten ? 

110 12. Relate the particulars of his second visit? 

13. What N. Island was converted? 

14. What idol did they worship? 

15. What warning do we hence derive ? 

111 16. What other N. nation was converted ? 



238 QUESTIONS ON PALMER'S COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

111 17. What change was effected with the Armenians ? 

18. — — and the Maronites ? 

19. State the introduction of the Gospel into Livonia? 

20. — — — — — into Prussia? 

112 21. What checks did the Saracens receive? 

22. What efforts were made in Tartary ? and in China? 

23. What European nation was last converted ? 

24. What effect had the conquests of the Portugusese ? 

25. — — — — and of the Spaniards ? 



CHAPTER XVII. — THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH. 

113 1. In what respects did the faith of the E.and W. Churches still agree? 

2. What was the chief point of doctrinal differences ? 

3. What was held on the subject of purgatory? 

4. What doctrines were universally maintained? 

114 5. What heretics were condemned? 

6. What did the Lateran council decree ? 

7. What did the W. Church hold as to the cause of man's salvation? 

8. How is this proved ? 

115 9. What error was afterwards introduced ? and by whom? 

116 10. What claim of the popes was now made an article of faith? 

11. Did the E. Church allow it ? 

12. What did the synod of Florence decree as to purgatory? 

117 13. When was the doctrine of transubstantiation established? 

14. Was the word used by all in the same sense ? 

15. What is said of the existence of errors in the Church? 



CHAPTER XVin. FRUITS OF FAITH. 

118 1. Give an account of the early days of St. Anselm? 

2. What did he afterwards become ? what were his studies ? 

119 3. What promotion did he receive from William Rufus? 

4. What is remarkable in his election and consecration ? 

5. Why did he retire from his see ? 

6. How was he received in Italy ? 

120 7. When did he return to England and what was his after course ? 
8. What was the character of Anselm? 

121 9. Give an account of St. Bernard? 
10. How did he study the Scriptures? 

122 11. Of what monastery was he made abbot ? its character? 
12. What influence had Bernard ? 

123 13. What is said of Homobonus? 

14. — — of the Schoolmen ? 

15. Give an account of St. Francis? 

16. — — of Richard of Chichester? 

124 17. — — of Robert Grosteste : what claims did he oppose ? 

125 IS. What abuses did he complain of? 

19. Name some other eminent theologians? 

126 20. Who was Justiniani ? show his fortitude ? 
21. What virtues did he possess ? 

127 22. When was he made bishop ? how did he conduct himself? 
23. Give the particulars of his death ? 

128 24. What had now become common in the Church ? 
25. What were still preserved ? 

129 26. State the testimony of Luther? 



ECCLESIASTICAL ^HISTORY. 239 

CHAPTER XIX. THE EASTERN CHURCH 

?4GE. Question. 

129 1. In what countries did this Church exist ? 

2. By what patriarchs was it governed ? 

3. Was all communion broken off with the W. Church? give proofs 

to the contrary ? 
4 What was the conduct of the popes? 

130 5. What benefits resulted from the resistance of the E. Church? 
6. State the language of the archbishop Nechites ? 

131 7. What effect had the crusades ? 

8. W T hat efforts did Michael Paleologus make ? 

9. What was done at the council of Lyons ? the result? 

10. What measures were taken at the council of Florence ? 

11. Was the union effected? 

132 12. When and by whom was Constantinople taken? 



CHAPTER XX.— ABUSES AJSTD CORRECTIONS 

1. What was the grand evil of this period ? 

2. What was the spirit of the court of Rome ? 

3. What were their maxims ? 

133 4. What followed from them ? 

5. What powerful engine was employed ? 

6. Who developed the full extent of the papal power? 

7. Over what countries did he extend his jurisdiction ? 

134 8. How did he manage the affairs of the Church? 
9. Who were legates ? 

10. What does the history of Europe present during this period ? 

11. What contested elections took place? 

135 12, What Church suffered severely in the 13th century? the particulars? 

136 13. How were the Italians enriched ? 

14. What did the pope claim as to the clergy who died intestate? 

15. What taxes did he try to lay on the clergy ? 

137 16. Were their claims resisted? 

17. How were appeals to the pope carried on ? the effects ? 

18. What dispensations were given ? the consequence ? 

138 19. What appointments did they claim? 
20. What were plenary indulgences? 

139 21. By whom was the papal supremacy chiefly sustained. 

22. What was the character of the monks ? 

23. How had they degenerated from their predecessors ? 

24. Who were the begging friars ? 

140 25. What does Richard of Armagh say of them? 
26, What had the monasteries become ? 

141 27. What was the general character of the clergy ? 
28. In what way was penitence evaded ? 

142 29. What new office was invented ? when? 

30. What was the rosary ? 

31. What charms were worn? 

32- What mode of absolution was used by the mendicant friars ? 

33- What abuses in relation to the eucharist were introduced ? 

143 34. What was the system of theological instruction? when was it given? 
35. What was the Book of Sentences ? 

144 36. What was the text book of the canonists ? its character ? 
37. What effect had these works on learning ? 

145 38. Was scripture still studied ? 

39. State the complaints of the university of Pans? 

40. What was to be expected from this state of things ? 



240 QUESTIONS ON PALMER'S COMPENDIOUS 

CHAPTER XXI. THE FOREIGN REFORMATION I 1517 &C 

Page. Question. 

146 1. What was the effect of the power of the popes? 

2. What was the great schism ! 

3. What councils were assembled? their effect? 

4. What reformers existed at this time ? 

5. What revived in the 15th century? 

147 6. By whom was the Reformation commenced ? the date ? 

7. What was his intention at first ? 

8. Why was he excommunicated ? when ? 

9. What was the effect of this separation 

148 10. What protectors did he find ? 

11. What did his piety call forth? 

12. What system of church government was established? 

13. What was the effect of the 2nd diet at Spires? 

14. What is the meaning of the term Protestant? 

15. Has the Church of England adopted it? 

16. What diet was now convened? its date? 

17. What was the confession there presented ? 

149 18. What was the result of the diet? 

19. What did the Protestants then do? 

20. What conference was held at Ratisbon ? 

21. What council was now called? when? by whom attended? 

22. What did the emperor do ? 

23. What was the Interim ? 

24. When did the council of Trent assemble? its effect? 

150 25. What led to a pacification ? its result ? 

26. Whether did the Reformation spread ? 

27. What good results followed ? 

28. What is said of Sweden? 

29. What error did the Lutherans fall into subsequently? 

30. What was their condition in the 17th century? 
15131. _ _ _ __ ISth century? 

32. What party now arose? who was its leader? the effects? 

33. Where else did a Reformation begin? its author? 

34. What were his views and their results ? 

152 35. What reformer succeeded him? what system did he invent? 

36. What was the progress of the Reformation in France? 

37. Whose doctrines did the party adopt ? 

35. What edict was passed ? when revoked? 

39. What revolution took place in Holland ? 

40. Whose system was adopted ? 

41. What is to be observed of the reformed communities? 

153 42. State the early life of Luther? what order did he enter? 

43. To what studies did he apply himself? 

44. Why did he go to Rome? the effect ? 

45. What led him to examine deeply into existing abuses ? 

46. How did he at first conduct the "controversy ? 

47. Did he voluntarily leave the Church of Rome ? 

154 48. To what diet was he called ? show his firmness? 

49. Whither was he conveyed ? in what did he employ himself? 

50. Why did he leave his retreat? 

51. What was his influence ? what works did he compose? 

52. Who succeeded Luther? what were his attainments? 

53. How was he brought over ? 

54. Name some of his writings? 

155 55. For what was he remarkable ? was he successful ? 
56. What is said of the early life of Calvin ? 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 241 

Page. Question. 

155 57. To what profession did he apply himself? 

58. What was the consequence ? 

59. What work did he publish? 

60. In what town did he settle ? why ? 

61. What executions did he make? the result? 

156 62. When was he recalled? what did he establish? 

63. What did he oppose ? state his influence ? 

64. What was his character? 

65. Was he ever in holy orders ? 

66. What excuse is given by his supporters? 

67. Is it safely to be relied on ? 

68. Where was Zuingle born? where did he study? 

69. Where was he made pastor ? 

70. What effect did his studies produce ? 

71. To what church was he appointed? and the consequence? 

157 72. What controversies ensued ? the issue ? 

73. What reforms did he effect ? 

74. What dispute had he with Luther ? 



CHAPTER XXII. ON THE BRITISH CHURCHES. 

1. How long had the church in Britain existed? 

2. How long was it independent of the Romish see? 

3. How was the jurisdiction obtained j 

158 4. Were appeals at first allowed ? 

5. When was the papal authority fully established ? 

6. What was the state of religion? 

7. What efforts did Wickliffe make ? 

8. What led to the Reformation in England ? 

9. Give the history of the proceedings? 

159 10. To what expedient did Henry resort? 

11. What was the decision? and the result? 

12. What did the convocation declare ? 

13. What exactions were abolished ? the date? 

14. What was enacted as to the election &c. of bishops? 

15. — — as to the right of appeal? as to licences, &c.&c? 

160 16. Was this agreed to by the Church of England? when and where? 

17. What work was published in 1537? what in 1543 ? 

18. What doctrine was disclaimed ? what abuses forbidden? 

19. What superstitions were prohibited? 

20. What penal laws were passed ? when ? 

21. What was Henry acknowledged to be? 

161 22. What did he do in virtue thereof? the result? 

23. Who succeeded Henry ? the date ? 

24. What reforms were made ? by whose authority ? 

25. What was done with the public prayers ? 

26. How did the popes now regard England ? 

27. Did the Church in England separate from the communion of the 

W. Church? 

28. What was the opinion of the papal party ? 

29. Who succeeded Edward? the date? 

162 30. Who became ascendant ? 

31. How many bishops were expelled? 

32. How replaced ? 

33. Had the pope any right of jurisdiction ? why not ? 

34. What did the parliament do ? what the nope ? 

35. What persecution arose ? relate the particulars? 

21 



242 questions on palmer's compendious 

Page. Question. 

162 36. Who succeeded Mary ? the date ? 
37. What laws were re-enacted ? 

163 38. What was done with the popish intruders? 

39. What was the view of the clergy generally? 

40. What formulary was published f wheu ? 

41. What state of things now existed ? 

42. W T hat was issued by the pope ? when ? 

43. What was the effect on the papists ? 

44. When was the Romish separation commenced ? 

164 45. When did they obtain bishops ? 

46. What other separation took place? 

47. Give an account of the authors ? 

48. What did they say of the Church? 

49. When did their numbers increase ? and why ? 

50. What was enacted by the parliament ? 

51. Under whom was the Church restored ? 

165 52. What was the course of James II. ? his fate? 

53. Who were the non-jurors ? 

54. What controversy was occasioned ? 

55. Who was Hoadly ? and what did he maintain ? 

56. What notice did the convocation take ? the issue ? 

57. By whom was he protected ? 

58. What attacks were made on subscription? 

166 59. Who founded the Methodists? the design? the result? 

60. From what causes did the Church suffer ? 

61. What dangers aroused it to exertion? 

62. What revival ensued ? how manifested ? 

63. What has continued to stimulate the Church? 

64. What enemies has she to encounter at the present time? 

167 65. How long was the Church of Ireland Independent? 

66. When was a legate sent there? and the pall received? 

67. When was the papal jurisdiction abolished ? 

68. What was done under Mary ? 

69. What under Elizabeth ? 

70. How were the Irish clergy affected ? 

71. What formularies of faith were adopted ? the dates ? 

168 72. Whom did the pope send to Ireland ? 

73. What was the effect on the people ? 

74. What instances are given in the text ? 

169 75. What orders did Maceogan give? 

76. What advantage was taken of the superstition of the Irish? 

170 77. What was the result of these rebellions ? 

78. What did James I. forbid ? 

79. What broke out under Charles 1. ? 

SO. By whom was the Church persecuted ? 

81 . What has been its state recently ? 

82. What were lately suppressed ? 

83. When did Scotland become subject to the pope? 

171 84. By whom was the Reformation introduced ? when? 

85. What was established under Melville ? the date ? 

86. When did these disorders cease? 

87. Who became predominant afterwards? 

88. What was done at the restoration ? 

59. — — after the accession of William? why? 

90. How was the Church subsequently treated ? 

91. When and how was the Church planted by England in N. America? 

92. What hindered its growth ? 

172 93. Who was the first bishop after the independence of the U. States ? 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 243 

Page. Question. 
172 94. Who were afterwards consecrated? 

95. What schismatical and spurious episcopacies exist ? 

96. What is the present state of the American Church ? 

97. In what English possessions have bishoprics been established ? 



CHAPTER XXin. FRUITS OF FAITH IN THE BRITISH CHURCHES. 

1. WTio stands prominent in the list of martyrs ? 

2. Where did he study ? 

173 3. What is said of his preaching? and knowledge? 

4. Why did he change his opinions on the Eucharist ? and when? 

5. Of what see was he consecrated bishop? 

6. Show his conscientiousness ? 

174 7. To what see was he promoted ? what was his character ? 

8. State his devotion : his concern for the poor ? 

9. What is said of his sermon on charity and its effects on the king ? 

175 10. What institutions were founded in consequence ? 

11. What happened on the accession of Mary? 

12. Show his constancy in prison? 

176 13. What did his chaplain recommend? 
14. State his reply : and his charge ? 

177 15. W T hat was the effect? 

16. Whither was he removed and with whom ? 

17. Before whom was he examined? what was his conduct? 

18. What was the sentence ? 

19. How did he behave on the eve of his death? 

178 20. — and on the morn of his execution ? 

21. What did he say to Latimer? what to the sermon? 

22. How did he behave at the stake ? 

23. What did Latimer say ? 

179 24. Was he long in suffering ? was Ridley ? 

25. What may be said of his death ? 

26. What is said of Hooker's early days? 

180 27. WTio provided for his education? 
2S. To what college was he sent ? 

29. What is said of his devotion ? his virtue ? his conduct ? 

30. What appointments did he receive? 

181 31. By what was the Church troubled ? 

32. Who was Hooker's opponent ? for what reason ? 

33. Who supported Hooker ? 

34. What great work did Hooker undertake ? where was it written ? 

35. What did the pope say of it? 

182 36. To what parish was he now appointed? what of his life ? 

37. What is said of his attention to his duties ? 

38. What friend attended him in his last illness ? 

183 39. On what did he profess to rely for justification ? 

40. What did he say in his last moments ? 

41. What is said ofthe education, &c. of Nicholas Ferrar? 

184 42. What did he do while abroad? 

43. What employment did he hold ? 

44. What offer did he decline ? 

45. Of what body was he elected a member ? 

46. Whither did he retire and with whom ? 

47. What was he ordained : and what was his vow? 

48. What offers did he refuse ? why ? 
186 49. What edifice was repaired? 

50. What did he establish ; in what was he diligent ? 



244 QUESTIONS ON PALMER 's COMPENDIOUS 

Page. Question. 

186 51. What was the routine on Sundays? 
52. What on week days ? 

187 53. To what were their leisure hours devoted? 

54. Who visited the Society? what did he say of it? 

55. What king also visited them? 

188 56. Describe the end of Ferrar ? 

57. What is said of the early days of Hammond? 

58. — — of his learning f 

59. Where was he settled ? what of his duties ? 

60. Why was he obliged to leave ? 

189 61. What persecutions did he suffer? 

. 62. What is said of his habits and devotion? 

63. — — of his forgiveness and humility? his alms? 

190 64. At what time did he die ? 

65. What is said of the ordination and resolutions of bishop Wilson? 

66. Who was his patron ? how did he benefit him ? 

191 67. To what see was he appointed? 

68. Whence did he obtain aid in his duties ? 

69. What was the state of his diocese? 

70. To what did he direct his attention ? 

71. What is said of his charity ? 

192 72. What provision did he make for the poor? 

73. What did he improve ? 

74. What is said of his diligence in preaching, &c? 

75. How did he attend to the clergy ? 

76. What did he address to them ? 

193 77. What is said of his devotion ? of his conversation? 
78. What exercise of discipline did he inflict ? the result ? 

194 79. State the particulars of his death? 

80. Mention some other worthies ? 

81. Which are the oldest Societies in the Church of England for the dif- 

fusion of the Gospel ? 

82. Who was their chief founder ? 

83. What is the object of the Society for the propagation of the Gospel ? 

195 84. — — of that for promoting Christian knowledge ? 
85. When was the Church Missionary Society formed ? 



CHAPTER XXIV. — THE ROMAN CHURCHES. 

1. What Churches remained under the papal jurisdiction? 

2. When did the council of Trent close ? 

3. What errors did it establish? 

196 4. How were its decrees received ? 

5. Was this according to primitive usage ? 

6. To what authority is this council entitled ? 

7. When was the Society of Jesuits established? 

8. What disputes arose in the Romish Church ? 

9. What controversy was introduced by Jansenius ? 

197 10. Where did his doctrines find their chief support ? 

11. What partial reformation took place in Germany? 

12. What monarch advocated it ? the result? 

13. What other countries imitated him? 

14. What is said of the Jansenists in Holland? 

15. Who chiefly opposed them? 

198 16. Whence arises their power? what made them popular? 
17. What are their characteristics? who exposed tnem? 

199 18. When were they suppressed ? when revived? 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 245 

Page. Question. 

199 19. What spirit long existed in France ? 

20. What effect had the Revolution? 

21. What pretended reorganization took place? the issue? 

22. What negotiations did Buonaparte carry on and what was the result ? 

200 23. What did he afterwards extinguish ? permanently ? 

24. What was done with the monasteries ? 

25. What actual temporal power has the pope now ? 

26. Give an account of the labours of Francis Xavier ? 

27. — — of the establishment of the Romish Church in China? 

201 28. — — — among the Syrian Christians of India ? 

29. — — — in South America ? 

30. What abuses did the council of Trent reform ? 

31. What mode of argument was adopted in the 17th century ? 

32. What effect had it ? 

33. What influence have the Jesuits produced on morality? 

CHAPTER XXV. FRUITS OF FAITH IN THE ROMAN CHURCHES. 

202 1. What may still be produced in these Churches? 

2. What are we hence guarded against? 

3. Where was Francis Xavier educated ? when ordained ? 

4. What application was made to the pope ? 

5. Whither was Xavier sent ? how did he employ himself on the voyage ? 

6. Where did he land ? what was the state of the residents? 

7. What measures did he adopt ? 

204 8. What good effect was produced? 

9. Among whom did he then labour? the result? 
10. To what kingdom did he then proceed? 

205 11. What other places did he visit ? what islands ? 

12. What did he-say of his dangers? 

13. To what countries did he next go? state his quickness in learning? 

14. Where did he next purpose going? 

206 15. Who was Charles Borromeo? what were his connexions? 

16. What was he made ? what did he found ? 

17. What is said of his household ? what urged him to reform ? 

207 IS. Where did he commence? 

19. What did he strive to exemplify ? 

208 20. How did he show his liberality ? 

21. In what condition was his diocese ? 

22. What discipline was introduced ? 

23. What attempt was made, and by whom? 

24. How did he employ his revenues? 

209 25. What of his visitations? his habits of piety ? his virtues? 

210 26. What of the early life of Francis de Sales"? 

27. For what was he intended ? what profession did he choose ? 

25. What is said of his preaching ? 

211 29. Where was he appointed to labour? what of his influence? 
30. When was he appointed bishop? state his plan of life ? 

212 31. Show his attention to his duties ? 

213 32. — his disinterestedness, and concientiousness? 
33. What was the effect of his preaching at Paris? 

214 34. What is said of his death? 

35. What of the early life of Vincent de Paul? 

36. What happened to him ? how did he endure his captivity? 

215 37. What effect had he on his owner ? 

38. What employment had he on returning to France ? 

216 39. What Benevolent Societies did he found ? 
40. What virtues did he exhibit ? 

21* 



246 QUESTIONS ON PALMER^ COMPENDIOUS, &C. 

CHAPTER XXVI. THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 

Page. Question. 

216 1. What of the faith and discipline of the Greek Churches ? 
2. What did the Lutherans seek ? 

217 3. What intercourse was had with the English Church? 

4. What error was embraced by some in the Greek Church ? when? 

5. When did the Russian Church become independent? 

6. What changes did Peter the Great make ? 

7. What change has been made in Greece ? 

8. What accession has the Greek Church gained ? 

CHAPTER XXVII. RISE AND PROGRESS OF INFIDELITY. 

218 1. Who was the leader among the infidel party ? to what was his life 
2. What was the watchword of the party? [devoted? 

219 3. What unbelievers had England produced ? 

4. What natural abilities had Voltaire ? 

5. What was his private character ? 

6. What design did he form? whose aid did he obtain? 

220 7. What was the object of this association? 

8. What words did they make use of? 

9. What was the principal engine they used ? its character ? 
10. W T hat circulation had it? 

221 11. What supporters did infidelity obtain? 
12. What was the state of morals in France ? 

222 13. What means were used to disseminate infidelity among the low? 

14. Were supporters found among the clergy? why? 

15. What was the death of Voltaire ? 

223 16. What did the seed produce ? 

17. What effect had it upon the Church ? 

18. Are the evils still experienced in France? 

224 19. What form has unbelief assumed in Germany? 

20. Describe its characteristics? 

21. What error has been widely spread in England ? 

225 22. What is the present garb of infidelity? 

23. What is the spirit of this age ? 

24. What are the duties of the Church ? 

CHAPTER XXVIII. CONCLUSION. 

1. What truth is clear through the progress of the Church ? 

2. What great doctrine has been steadily preserved ? 
220 3. What creeds are universally accepted ? 

4. Whom do all Churches confess ? 

5. What do they allow as to the condition of man? 

6. W T hat do they believe as to Divine grace ? 

7. — — as to the judgment to come ? 

8. — — as to the Holy Scriptures? 

9. What of the Sacraments and of the Apostolic succession ? 

10. To what does the differences between them chiefly relate ? 

11. What truths do many schismatics retain? 

12. What union was enjoined by our Lord ? 

13. What has been the main cause of present divisions ? 

14. On what way do the Romish superstitions chiefly depend ? 

15. What else have we to deplore besides disunion? 

16. What has every Church and age to fear ? 

17. What are opposite evils to the facts of usurpation and bigotry? 

18. What Apostolic precept must be constantly remembered ? 

19. What is there to console us in the history of the Church? 



INDEX. 



African Churches, 26. 

Agobard, 80. 

Albigenses, heretics, 114. 

Alexandria, Church of, 8. 

Alfred, king, 95. 

Alsatia, converted, 76. 

Ambrose, 60. 

America, Church of, 171. 

Amnion, 53. 

Amorium, martyrs of, 93. 

Anabaptists, 164. 

Anselm, 118-120. 

Antioch, council of, 12, 25, 36. 

Antony, 51. 

Apollinaris, heretic, 41. 

Arabians, converted, 45. 

Arianism, 34-40. 

Ariminum, synod of, 39. 

Arius, heretic, 34, 35, 36. 

Armenia, 34, 111. 

Artemon, 12. 

Articles of the English Church, 

163. 
Asia Minor, 7, 15-18. 
Athanasius, 35-40. 
Augsburg, diet of, 148. 
Augsburg, confession of, 148, 151. 
Augustine, 62. 

Augustine, of Canterbury, 46. 
Baptism, 27 ; of infants, ibid. 
Baptists, 164. 
Basil the Great, 58. 
Basire, archdeacon, 217. 
Batavians, converted, 48. 
Bavaria, converted, 75. 
Bede, venerable, 85. 
Benedict, 63. 

Benedict of Anianum, 102. 
Berengarius, heretic, 75, 81. 



Bernard of Clairvaux, 121. 

Bishops, 33. 

Bohemia, converted, 75. 

Boniface, 88-90. 

Borromeo, cardinal, 205-210. 

Bossuet. 201. 

Bray, Dr. 194. 

Brienne, cardinal de, 222. 

Bulgaria, converted, 76. 

Buonaparte, 199. 

Calvin, 155. 

Canon law, 143. 

Carinthia, converted, 75. 

Carloman, 87. 

Celibacy of clergy, 72. 

Chalcedon, synod of, 44. 

Charlemagne, emperor, 75, 87. 

Charles I., king, 187, 189, 217. 

China, Christianity introduced, 

112. 
Chrysostom, 60. 
Clement of Rome, 25. 
Clement of Alexandria, 23. 
Columban, 47, 139. 
Communion in one kind, introduc 

ed, 142; of the sick, 34. 
Confession, 32, 81, 142. 
Confirmation, 28. 
Congo, converted, 112. 
Constantine the Great, 10. 
Constantinople, patriarch of, 64, 

104. 
Constantinople, I. synod of, 41. 
Constantinople, II. synod of, 45. 
Constantinople, III. synod of 

47. 
Constantinople, synod of, in 754, 

79. 
I Cornelius of Rome, 26. 



248 



INDEX. 



Courland, converted, 112. 
Cranmer, archbishop, 159, 162, 
173, 177. 

Creeds, 30; Apostles', ibid. Nicene, 
3J. 

Cyprian, 23, 26. 

Cyril of Alexandria, 43. 

Cyril of Jerusalem, 57. 

Cyrillus Lucaris, 217. 

D'Alembert, 220. 

Dalmatia, converted, 76. 

Decretals, spurious, 103, 104. 

Denmark, Christianity introduc- 
ed, 76. 

Diocletian, 15. 

Dionysius of Alexandria, 23. 

Dionysius of Corinth, 25. 

Dioscorus, heretic, 44. 

Discipline of the scourge, intro- 
duced, 141. 

Divisions of Churches, 26, 27, 
66, 104-105. 

Domitian, 15. 

Donatists, 26. 

Edessa, Church of, 8. 

Elevation of eucharist, introduc- 
ed, 142. 

Elipandus, heretic, 77. 

England, Reformation in, 159- 
163. 

Ephesus, 8, 15. 

Ephesus, synod of, 43. 

Episcopacy, 8, 33. 

Ethiopia, converted, 41. 

Eucharist, 22, 29, 80, 142. 

Eunomius, heretic, 59. 

Eusobius of CaBsarea, 56. 

Eusebius of Nicomedia, 36. 

Eutyches, heretics, 44. 

Excommunication, abused, 103. 

Ferrar, Nicholas, 183-187. 

Fidus of Meissen, 95. 

Florence, synod of, 131. 

France, Reformation in. 152. 

Francis of Assisium, 123. 

Frankfort, synod, against wor- 
ship of images, 79. 

Franks, converted, 45, 48. 

Frederick, II. 220. 

Friars, begging, 139. 

Friesland, Christianity introduc- 
ed, 25. 



Frumentius, 41. 

Gallican Church, 199. 

Gall, 48. 

Georgia, converted, 41. 

Germany, Reformation there, 147, 
&c. 

Gnostics, 13, 23. 

Goa, Christianity there, 200, 201. 

Goths, converted, 41. 

Gratian, 143. 

Greece, Church of, 217. 

Gregory the Great, 46. 

Gregory the Illuminator, 34. 

Gregory Nazianzen, 58. 

Gregory Thaumaturgus, 23. 

Gregory of Utrecht, 91. 

Grosteste. bishop, 124. 

Hammond, 188-190. 

Henry VIII. 158-161. 

Hervey, archbishop of Rheims, 
84. 

Hesse, Christianity introduced, 75. 

Hilary of Poictiers, 39. 

Hoadly, heretic, 165. 

Holland, Reformation in, 151. 

Homobonus, 123. 

Homousion, 35. 

Honorius of Rome, heretics, 47. 

Hooker, 179-183. 

Hungary, converted, 76. 

Inconoclasts, 78. 

Ignatius, 20. 

Image-worship, 78-80. 

Independents or Brownists, 164. 

India, conversions in, 202, 203. 

Indulgences, 141. 

Interim, the, 149. 

Invocation of saints, 68, 101, 110. 

Ireland, converted, 45. 

Ireland, Church of, 169 ; Refor- 
mation there, 169; schism of 
Romanists, 170, 171. 

Irenosus, 9, 11, 23. 

Jansenists, 196. 

Japan, Christianity there, 205. 

Jerome, 62. 

Jesuits, 196, 198, 199, 200, 202. 

John, apostle, 15. 

John Chrysostom, 60. 

Julius of Rome, 37, 64. 

Justin Martyr, 9, 23. 

Justiniani, Laurence, 125-128. 



INDEX. 



249 



Kempis, Thomas a, 125. 

Kilian, 48. 

Lanfranc, 118. 

Latimer, bishop, 177-179. 

Laud, archbishop, 185, 188. 

Lebuin, 92. 

Leo the Great, 44, 63. 

Libanus, converted, 45. 

Lithuania, converted, 112. 

Liturgy, language of, 71, 72, 101. 

Liturgies, 31. 

Livonia, converted, 111. 

Lord's supper. See Eucharist. 

Lucifer of Cagliari, 39, 56. 

Luitprand, 87. 

Luther, 147, 153. 

■ his opinion of the Church, 

128. 
Lyra, 125. 

Macedonius, heretic, 41. 
Mahomet, 47. 
Maronites, converted, 111. 
Marriage, 22 ; of clergy, 72, 160. 
Martin of Tours, 41, 57. 
Melancthon, 154. 
Meletius of Antioch, 57. 
Mendicants, 139. 
Menezes, archbishop, 201. 
Methodists, 166. 
Monastic life, 49, &c. 
Monks, their corruptions, 139- 

141. 
Monophysites, heretics, 44. 
Monothelites, heretics, 46. 
Nechites, 130. 
Nectarius, 32. 
Nero, 14. 

Nestorius, heretic, 43. 
Nice, synod of, 35. 
Nice, synod for images, 79. 
Nicene Creed, 35. 
Nilus of Calabria, 97-99. 
Noetus, 12. 
Non-jurors, 165. 
Normans, converted, 76. 
Novatians, 26. 
Ockham, 125. 
Odo, of Clugny, 102. 
Origen, 10, 23. 
Otto of Bamberg, 108-110. 
Oxford, University of, 96, 143. 
Pachomius, 53. 



Papists, their separation from the 
Churches of England and Ire- 
land, 163, 168-170. 

Paschasius Radbert, 80. 

Patrick, 45. 

Paul, apostle, 8, 15. 

Paul, Vincent de, 214-216. 

Paul of Samosata, 12. 

Paulicians, heretics, 77. 

Pelagius, heretic, 42. 

Penitence, 32, 70, 141. 

Penitentiaries, 32. 

Peter, apostle, 6, 8, 15. 

Peter Lombard, 123, 143. 

Photinus, heretic, 41. 

Pictures of saints, 70. 

Pilgrimages, 70. 

Pliny, 8, 12. 

Poland, converted, 76. 

Poly carp, 16-20. 

Pomerania, converted, 107-110. 

Popes, temporal power of, 103, 133 
-J 38 ; taxes imposed by them, 
135-138 ; appeals to them, 137 ; 
dispensations, 137 ; usurpations 
of patronage, 138. 

Praxeas, 12. 

Prayers for the dead, 73, 74. 

Procession of Holy Spirit, 113. 

Protestants, origin of the term, 
148. 

Prussia, converted, 111. 

Purgatory, 73, 113, 114. 

Puritans, origin of, 164. 

Rationalism in Germany, 151, 
224. 

Ratisbon, conference of, 149. 

Relics, 69. 

Richard of Chichester, 123. 

Ridley, martyr, 172-179. 

Roman Church, 7 ; its charity, 26 

Rome, patriarchate of, 64 ; juris, 
diction of, its origin and in- 
crease, 64-66, 116, 130, 133, &c 

Rosary, invented, 142. 

Rugen, isle of, converted, 110. 

Russia, converted, 76 ; Church oU 
217. 

Sabellius, 12. 

Sales, Frances de, 210-214. 

Saracens, their ravages, 74, 75. 

Sardica, synod of, 37, 64. 



250 



INDEX, 



Scapulary, invented, 142. 

Scotland, Reformation there, 170 ; 
Presbyterian schism, 171. 

Simeon Styiites, 55. 

Smalcald, league of, 149. 

Smyrna, 16. 

Society for promoting- Christian 
Knowledge, 194 ; for propaga- 
ting the Gospel, 195; Church 
Missionary, 195. 

Stephen of Rome, 26. 

Suevi, converted, 48. 

Switzerland, converted, 48. 

Switzerland, reformation there, 
151. 

Tacitus, 8, 14. 

Tartary, Christianity introduced, 
112. 

Tertullian, 9, 23. 

Thaddaeus, apostle, 8. 

Theodotus, heretic, 12. 



Thuringia, Christianity introduu 
ced, 75. 

Transubstantiation, 81, 116. 

Travancore, converted, 204. 

Trent, council of, 162, 196, 201. 

Trosle, syod of, 84. 

Tyre, synod of, 36. 

Universities, 143. 

Unknown language, in the Litur- 
gy. See Liturgy. 

Victor, 12. 25. 

Virgin, office in honour of her.142. 

Voltaire, 218-222. 

Westphalia, converted, 48. 

Whitgift, archbishop, 181. 

WicklhTe. 146, 158. 

Willibrord, 48. 

Wilson, bishop, 190-194. 

Weslev, 166. 

Xavier, 200, 202-205. 

Zuingle, 151, 156. 



EXPLANATION OF DIFFICULT WORDS. 



Alb, a vestment of the clergy. 

Almoner, a person who distributes alms. 

Amphitheatre, a place for public amusements. 

Anathema, excommunication, the severest censure of the Church. 

[Annates, the first year's income of a benefice.] 

Ascetics, devout persons, given up to a life of religion. 

Asiarch, the principal heathen priest of Asia Minor. 

Baptistery, a place for administering baptism. 

Canons, ecclesiastical laws made by synods, also certain of the clergy. 

Catholic, universal, or universally received. 

Convocation, an assembly of the clergy. 

Council, an assembly of bishops. 

Heresy, an obstinate denial or perversion of some article of the faith. 

Iconoclasts, image-breakers. 

Irenarch, a magistrate who watched over the public peace. 

[Legate, an ambassador of the Pope, generally a cardinal.] 

[Mandate, a command to the patron of a benefice to bestow it on a par- 
ticular person.] 

Matins, morning service. 

Metropolitan, a bishop who has the chief authority amongst the bish- 
ops of a province. 

[Nuncio, a messenger of the Pope.] 

Oratory, a private chapel. 

(Ecumenical Synod, an assembly of bishops from all parts of the world. 

Orisons, prayers. 

Pall, an ornament worn originally by Patriarchs, afterwards by me- 
tropolitans. 

Patriarch, a bishop who has authority over metropolitans. 

Proconsul, a Roman governor. 

Schism, a criminal division in the Church, or a voluntary separation 
from it. 

Synod, an assembly of bishops. 

Temporalities, the property of the Church. 

Vigil, watching at night with prayer, 



LIST OF WORKS ON CHURCH HISTORY, MOSTLY OF A POPU 
LAR CHARACTER, WHICH MAY BE PROFITABLY READ B? 
THOSE WHO DESIRE FULLER INFORMATION THAN THIS 
COMPENDIUM AFFORDS. 

On the EARLY CHURCH. Burton's History of the Church in the 

First three Centuries, 12mo. An American edition. 

R. W. Evans' Biography of the Early Church, 2 vols. 12mc 

forming part of Rivington's Theological Library, London 

A delightful book, well worthy of re-publication. 

Burton's Lectures on the History of the Church in the First 

Century, 8vo. London. 
Burton's Lectures on the History of the Church in the Second 
and Third Centuries, 8vo. London. Addressed to theologi- 
cal students, and admirably adapted for their use, and that 
of clergymen. 
On the ENGLISH CHURCH. T. V. Short's History of the Church 
of England, second edition, 8vo. London. 
Carwithen's History of the Church of England, 3 vols. 8vo 
London. 
On the REFORMATION. Le Bas' Life of Wiclif, 12mo. 

Le Bas' Life of Cranmer, 2vols. 12mo. 
Le Bas' Life of Jewel, 12mo. 
Le Bas' Life of Laud, 12mo. 
Of this series, forming part of Rivington's Theological Li- 
brary, only the first three volumes have been re-published in 
this country, in Harper's Theological Library. The others, 
not at all inferior in value, are necessary to complete the 
view of the English Reformation in its successive stages. 
Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation of the Church of England, 
12mo. An American edition. 
On the AMERICAN CHURCH. White's Memoirs of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal Church, second edition, 8vo. Swords. 
Chandler's Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson, 12mo. Swords. 
McVickar's Life of Bishop Hobart, 12mo. 
Hawks' Histories of the Church in Virginia and Maryland, 
2 vols. 8vo. New- York. 



OLD ESTABLISHED CHURCH BOOKSTORE. 

A CATALOGUE OF 

EPISCOPAL WORKS, 




TRINITY CHURCH- 



PUBLISHED BY 

STANFORD & SWORDS, 

(LATE SWORDS, STANFORD & CO.) 

139 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK. 

THE OLDEST EPISCOPAL BOOKSTORE IN THE UNITED STATES. 
ESTABLISHED IN 17S7 



STANFORD & SWORDS beg leave to inform their 
friends and the public, that they continue to keep on hand, 
as in former years, a general assortment of Religious Works, 
suitable for individuals, for Parish and Family Libraries, and 
for the Clergy, v.hieh they will dispose of on the most rea- 
sonable terms. Having an agent in London, they offer their 
services to the public for the importation of books, pam- 
phlets, &c, which can be obtained through them on as low 
terms as at any other establishment in the country. The 
clergy can at all times find upon their shelves a great variety 
of old books at low prices. 

Bibles and Prayer-Books, 

Of every size and description of binding. Also, the Church Lesson? 

in convenient forms. Bibles and Common Prayer Books for the Desk 

in Folio and Quarto, constantly on hand. Gaines' edition of the Folio 

Prayer Book, in substantial binding, reduced to $3. 

Among the Books published by them in aid of Christian 

knowledge and piety, are the following : 

GOOD MAN'S LIFE. Records of a Good Man's Life, by Rev. C. B. 
Taylor. 12mo. 75 cents. A golden book. 

THE NEW MANUAL OF DEVOTIONS. — Edited by the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Ives, of North Carolina. 1 vol. 12mo. Price #1. 

THE CHRISTIAN'S MANUAL of Faith and Devotion.— Edited by the 
late Rt. Rev. Bishop Hobart. 1 vol. G2| cents. 

THORNTON'S FAMILY PRAYERS, with a Commentary on our Lord's 
Sermon on the Mount. Edited by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Eastburx. 
1 vol. 12mo. Price 75 cents. 

BICKERSTETH'S TREATISE On the Lord's Supper. Enlarged and 
improved by the author, and edited by the Rev. L. P. W. Balch, 
Rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, New York. 1 vol. 12mo. 75cts. 

THE COMPANION FOR THE ALTAR : Or Week's Preparation for 
the Holy Companion. By the late Right Rev. Bishop Hobart. 1 vol. 
Trice 30 cents. 

THE COMMUNICANT'S MANUAL. By the same. A neat pocket 
volume. Price 18| cents. Morocco gilt, 37j cents. 

THE LIFE AND POSTHUMOUS WORKS of the late Right Rev. Bish- 
op Hobart. Edited by the Rev. Wjm. Berriax, D. D. 3 vols. Svo. 
$4 50. 

THE LIFE AND SERMONS of the late Right Rev. Nathaniel Bow- 
en, D. D. of South Carolina, and formerly of Grace Church, New- 
York. 2 vols. Svo. $4. 



■^ 



MELVILL'S SERMONS, Edited by Bishop McIlvaine. 3d edition, 
in one large Svo. volume. Price $2 50. 

SERMONS— By the late Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., Bishop 

of New- York. 2 vols. 8vo. Price $2 50. 

SERMONS — By the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, Vicar of Harrow, author 
of " The Velvet Cushion," " World without Souls," &c. &c. 1 vol. 

Svo. $1. 

SERMONS— By the late Rev. C. R. Duffie, first Rector of St. Thomas's 
Church, New- York. 2 vols. Svo. $2 50. 

PALMER'S HISTORY of the Church of Christ. Edited by the Right 
Rev. Bishop Whittingham, with questions annexed ; adapting the 
work for Schools and Parishes. In cloth, 62t cents; in boards, 50 eta. 

THE LASTS DAYS OF BISHOP HEBER, By the Rev. Archdeacon 
Robinson. A most interesting work to all who venerate the memory 
of this departed prelate. In 1 vol. 12mo. 50 cents. 

A TRIBUTE OF SYMPATHY.— Addressed to Mourners. By Newn- 
ham. l2mo. 50 cents. 

BARROW'S TREATISE on the Pope's Supremacy. 8vo. $1 50. 

VILLAGE SERMONS, On the Relative Duties. To which is appended 
Sermons to Young Men. By the Rev. Edward Berens. 75 cents. 

THE CHURCHMAN'S MANUAL.— By the Rev. Benjamin Dorr, 
D. D. 75 cents. 

AIDS TO REFLECTION— By Samuel Taylor Coleridge. With 
the author's last corrections. Edited by H. N. Coleridge, Esq., 
M. A. To which is prefixed a Preliminary Essay, by the Rev. J 
McVickar, D. D. 75 cents. 

THE CONSTITUTION AND CANONS of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States af America: the whole being chronologi- 
cally arranged, with Notes and Remarks, Historical and Explanatory. 
By Francis L. Hawkes, D. D. $1 25. 

BERRIAN'S PRAYERS.— Family and Private Prayers. By the Rev 
Wm. Berrian, D. D. 62| cents. 

PRAYERS AND OFFICES of Devotion for Families, and for Particular 
Persons upon most occasions. By Benjamin Jenks. Altered and 
improved by the late Rev. Charles Simeon, Fellow of King's Col- 
lege, Cambridge. 50 cents. 

JERRAM AND WALL'S Conversations on Infant Baptism. 37| cents. 

NELSON'S Practice of True Devotion. 37 J cents. 

HOLY LIVING AND DYING.— By the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, 
D.D. $1. 

HOBART'S APOLOGY— An Apology for Apostolic Order and its Ad- 
vocates. By the late Right Rev. Bishop Hobart. With Notes, and 
a valuable Index to subjects. 50 cents. 

FESTIVALS AND FASTS.— A Companion to the Festivals and Fasts 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 
By the late Bishop Hobart. 



CHURCH MUSIC— The following valuable works of Church Music, 
adapted for the Organ or Piano: — The Church Choir; The Harp of 
David; The Music of the Church. All $1 each. 

DYER ON EPISCOPACY.— Testimonies for Episcopacy from the ear- 
lier Christian Writers. By the Rev. Palmer Dyer. 25 cents. 

DEHON ON CONFIRMATION.— Sermons on Confirmation, and an 
Address. By the late Bishop Dehon, of South Carolina. 10 cents. 
$1 per dozen. 

BISHOP IVES'S CATECHISM— A Catechism to be taught orally. By 
a Bishop of the Church. 10 cents, $1 per dozen. 

KEITH. — Evidence of Prophecy. By the Rev. Alexander Keith, 
D. D. 75 cents. Demonstration of the Truth of the Christian Reli- 
gion. By the same. $1 50. 

HENRY MARTYN.— A Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn. By the 
Rev. John Sargent. In 1 vol. $1. 

JEREMY TAYLOR— The Life of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D. D 
By Bishop Heber. 1 vol. 75 cents. 

BISHOP HOPKINS.— Christianity Vindicated, in Seven Discourses on 
the Evidences of the New Testament. By Jorn Henry Hopkins, 
D. D., Bishop of Vermont. 1 vol. 50 cents. The Primitive Creed 
Examined and Explained. By the same. 1 vol. $1. The Primitive 
Church Compared with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States. By the same. $1. The Church of Rome in her Primitive 
Purity, compared with the Church of Rome at the present day. By 
the same. $1. 

FABER.— The Difficulties of Romanism. By George Stanley Fa- 
ber, B. D. Edited by the Rev. John Coleman, D. D. $1. The Diffi- 
culties of Infidelity. By the same. 50 cents. 

BISHOP McILVAINE— A Series of Evangelical Discourses, selected 
for the Use of Fumilies and Destitute Congregations. By the Right 
Rev. Bishop McIlvaine. 2 vols. $4 50. Lectures on the Evidences 
of Christianity. By the same. 8vo. $1 25. 

WORKS ON EPISCOPACY.— Containing the Rev. Dr. Bowden's Let- 
ters to the Rev. Dr. Miller ; and also Dr. Cooke's Essay on the In- 
validity of Presbyterian Ordination ; and Bishop Onderdonk's Episco- 
pacy tested by Scripture. 2 vols. $1 25. 

WILBERFORCE— The Life of William Wilberforce, Esq. 2 vols. 

$2. The Correspondence of the same. 2 vols. $2. 

CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE. By Caroline Fry. G2J cents. A Word 
to Women. By the same. 75 cents. Table of the Lord. By the same. 
75 cents. 

CATECHISM.— Lectures on the Church Catechism. By Ajchbishop 
Secker. 75 cents. 

SERMONS.— By the Right Rev. Bishop Horsley. Two volumes in 
one. 8vo. $1 50. 

ROBERT SOUTHEY— The Book of (lie Church. By Robert Sotjtht 
ey, L L. D. Abridged and adapted for the Young. 62$ cents. 



HANNAH MORE.— The Spirit of Prayer, by Hannah More : to which 
is added, Pietas Quotidiana, or Prayers and Meditations for every day 
in the week, and on various occasions : also Hymns suited to the sub- 
jects. 1 vol. neat 32mo. Price 31J cts. 

BISHOP SHORT.— What is Christianity ? By Thomas Vowler Short, 
Bishop of Sodar and Man : containing, What is Christianity ? The 
Doctrines of the Atonement. What is Sanctification ? The Christian 
Looking Back; The Christian Looking Forward; and, The Christian 
Exerting himself. 1 vol. 12mo. 50 cts. 

WHAT IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ?— To which is annexed, A 
Pastoral Letter to the People of the Diocese of Maryland, by the Right 
Rev. Bishop Whittingham. ISmo. Price 37J cts. This little vo- 
r lume is a valuable companion to the foregoing work of Bp. Short. 

THE CHURCHMAN ARMED :— Containing A Compendious Ecclesi- 
astical History, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. By the 
Rev. William Palmer, M. A., Author of Origines Liturgicae, &c. &c. ; 
with a Preface, Notes, and Questions, by an American Editor : also An 
Apology for Apostolical Order and its Advocates, in a Series of Letters 
addressed to Dr. Mason by the late Bishop Hobart ; with Notes and 
an Index. 1 vol. 12mo. $1. 

WILBERFORCE.— Family Prayers. By the late William Wilber- 
force, Esq., Edited by his Son: to which are added, Prayers by the 
Rev. John Swete, D. D., 1 vol. 18mo. 25 cts. 

THE BELIEVER'S POCKET COMPANION: containing a number of 
Passages, (chiefly Promises,) selected from the Sacred Writings ; with 
Observations, in Prose and Verse. By I. Evans. To which is added, 
Corbet's Self-Employment in Secret: with a Selection of Hymns. 

AKINSIDE'S WORKS.— The W T orks of Mark Akinside, M. D., in 
Verse and Prose ; and an Essay on the first Poem of Mrs. Barbauld. 
2 vols, in 1. 12mo. 75 cts. 

PASSION WEEK. — Three Sermons of Launcelot Andrewes, Bishop 
of Winchester, on the Passion of Our Lord. To which are added, Ex- 
tracts from his Devotions, &c. 18mo. 37£ cts. 

CECIL'S VISIT.— A Friendly Visit to tfie House of Mourning. By the 
Rev. Richard Cecil. W T ith an Appendix. 1 vol. 32mo. 18J cts. 

BP. WHITE'S MEMOIRS OF PROT. EPIS. CHURCH.— Memoirs of 

the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, from its organi- 
zation up to the present time: containing, — I. A Narrative of the or- 
ganization and of the early measures of the Church. II. Additional 
Statements and Remarks. III. An Appendix of Original Papers Qy 
Bishop White. 2d Edition. 1 vol. 8vo. $ 1 50. 

SEARCH OF TRUTH in the Science of the Human Mind. By the 
Rev. Frederick Beasley, D. D. 1 vol. 8vo. $ 1 50. 

REMEMBER ME.— A Token of Christian Affection ; consisting of en- 
tirely Original Pieces: in Prose and Verse 1 vol. 18mo 25 cts. 



VILLAGE LIFE.— Character and Incidents of Village Life, mostly 
founded on facts : intended for Religious and Moral Instruction, &c &c. 
By Mrs. Bowles. 1 vol. ISmo. 23 cts. 

THE STEWARD'S RECKONING: or a Series of Sermons upon the 
Tenor and Character of every Man's account with his conscience and 
his God. Also, A Sermon showing that the Kingdom of Christ has 
no connection with Civil Governments. By Rev. William A. Clark, 
D. D. 1 vol. 12mo. 62$ cts. 

REASONS WHY I AM A CHURCHMAN: or the Episcopalian Armed 
against popular objections. 

CLAVERSTON: or, The Infidel's Visit. 1 vol. IS mo. 23 cts. 

FOWLER ON COMMON PRAYER.— An Exposition of the Book of 
Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments. &,c. &c. By 
the Rev. Andrew Fowler. 1 vol. 12mo. 73 cts. 

PRIMITIVE TRUTH AND ORDER.— Vindicated from Modern Mis- 
representations, with a Defence cf Episcopacy, particularly that of 
Scotland, against an attack made on it by the late Dr. Campbell of 
Aberdeen. By the Right Rev. John Skinner. 1 vol. Svo. $ 1. 

WORKS OF THE LATE REV. JOHN A. CLARK, D. D.— A Walk 

about Zion. Young Disciple: or, A Memoir of Ansonetta R. Peters. 
Pastor's Testimony. Gathered Fragments, &c. <Scc. 

THE HISTORY OF A POCKET PRAYER BOOK. By the Rev. Dr. 
Dorr. lbmo. 37§ cts. 

THE DEVOUT CHURCPIMAN'S COMPANION; containing A New 
and Convenient Arrangement of Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata and 
Introduction to the Lord's Supper: together with the Collects and 
Psalms, classified according to their subjects. Edited by Rev. W II. 
Odenheimer. 62h cts. 

AN ADDRESS TO YOUNG PERSONS about to be confirmed. By 
Bishop Wilson. Edited by Dr. Dorr. 3;2mo. 23 cts. 

THE RECOGNITION OF FRIENDS in Another World. By the Rev. 
Benjamin Dorr, D. D. 32mo. 23 cts. 

AN EXPLANATION AND HISTORY of the Book of Common 
Prayer: to which ~— * added, The Articles of Religion. ISmo. 37£.cts. 

THE TRUE CATrfOLIC NO ROMANIST: A Vindication of the Apos- 
tolicity and Independence of the Holv Catholic Church. By Rev. W. 
H. Odenheimer. 1 vol. 32mo. 37 J cts. 

DORR ON THE COMrvKJNION— An Affectionate Invitation to the 
Holy Communion : being Selections from the works of Eminent Eng- 
lish Divines. Ry Rev. Benjamln Dorr, D. D. 37| cts. 

THEOLOGY FOR THE PEOPLE; a series of Discourses on the Cate- 
chism of the Prot. Epis. Church. By Bishop Henshaw of Rhode Isl- 
and. 1 vol. 8vo. $2. 



CERTAIN SERMONS OR HOMILIES, appointed to be read in churcHes 
in the time of Queen Elizabeth; and reprinted by authority from 
King James T., A. D. 1023. To which are added, the Constitutions 
ns of the Church of E t forth A. D. 1603. With 

an Appendix, containing the Articles of Religion, Constitution, and 
Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of 
America. Third American from the lust English edition. 

WTLMER'S EPISCOPAL MANUAL, a Summary Explanation of the 
Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States of America, with an Appendix. 1 vol. 
12mo., cloth. $1. 

WILSON ON CONFIRMATION, by Rev. Benjamin Dorr, D. D. 1 vol. 
3:2 mo., cloth. 25 cents. 

THE ORIGTN AND COMPILATION OF THE PRAYER BOOK, by 
the Rev. Wm. H. Odenheimer, 1 vol. 32mo. 37^ cents. 

THE HEART. —The Heart delineated in its State of Nature and as 
Renewed by Grace, by the Rev. Hugh Smith, D. D. 50 cents. 

LESSONS ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, designed for more 
advanced Bible Classes, by Stephen H. Tyng, D. D., Rector of the 
Chur.ch of. the Epiphany, Philad. 1 vol. LSmo., half bound. 25 

PAY THY VOWS, a Pastoral Address subsequent to Confirmation, by 
the late G. T. Bedell, D. D., Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Phila- 
delphia. 1 vol. 32mo., muslin. IS cents. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PRAYER BOOK, by a Layman. 32mo. 
cloth, plain. 31 cents. 

GRISWOLD'3 MEMOIRS— The Life of the Right Rev. A. V. Gris- 
wold, D. D., Bishop of the Eastern Diocese. Svo. $3. • 

SOUTH'S SERMONS.— The Sermons of the Rev. Robert South, D. D. 
4 vols. Svo. 

REV. DR. CLARK. — Awake thou Sleeper, a Series of Discourses by the 
late Rev. John A. Clark, D. D. 12mo. 75 cents. Also a new 
edition of the other works of the same author. 

CHURCH CATECHISM— Mrs. Trimmer's Explanation of the Church 

Catechism, with Questions. ISmo. 37 \ cents. 

PAGET'S SERMONS.— On the Duties of daily Life, by Frances E. 
Paget. A. M- 12mo. 75 cents. 

KERLE'S CHRISTIAN YEAR. This is a neat little pocket edition, 
beautifully got up with illuminated title. First American, from the 
seventh London edition. 

RICHARD HOOKER'S WORKS.— The whole works of the learned and 
judicious Hooker, edited by Keble. 2 vols. Svo. $4. 

STONE ON THE SABBATH.— Lectures on the Instruction of the Sab- 
bath, by the Rev. John. T. Stone, D. D. 12mo. 75 cents. 

SERMONS.— Sketches of 400 Sermons by eminent living authors in 
England, &c. 4 vols. 12mo. 



SECKER'S LECTURES on the Church Catechism. 1 vol. 12mo. 75 
cts. Also Five Sermons Against Popery, by the same Author. 25 cts. 

LEARN TO LIVE, also Learn to Die. By Christopher Sutton, 
D.D. 12mo. $i. each. 

PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN, or the Devout Penitent ; A book of De- 
votion, containing the whole Duty of a Christian, on all occasions and 
necessities ; fitted to the main use of a Holy Life. By R. Sherlock, D. D. 
12mo. $1. 

HAPPY OLD AGE, Exemplified in the Life of Mrs. Bolton. 1 vol. 
32mo. 18$ 

CHURCHMAN'S HEAVENLY HOURS: or Daily Approaches to 
God : in a series of Meditations and Hymns, selected by the most emi 
nent Writers. 1 vol. 32mo. gilt. 37| cts. 

THE PORTRAITURE OF A CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN. By 
W. Roberts, Author of Life of Hannah More. 1 vol. 12mo. 37J cts 

MEMOIRS OF REV. JOHN STANFORD, D. D. By Rev. Charles 
G. Sommers, together with an Appendix; comprising Brief Memoirs oi 
the Rev. John Williams, the Rev. Thomas Baldwin, D. D. and the 
Rev. RfcHARD Sherman, D. D., with a portrait of Dr. Stanford. 1 vol 
12mo. 75 cts. 

SIMEON'S SERMONS. The Offices of the Holy Spirit. Four Ser- 
mons preached before the University of Cambridge. *By Rev. Charles 
Simeon, M. A. 1 vol. 12mo. 37 \ cts. 

THE DOUBLE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH. By the Rev. Wm. 
Ingram Kip, M. A. 12mo. Also, The Lenten Fast. By the 

same Author. 

MEMORIAL OF REV. DR. BAYARD, late Rector of St. Clement 
Church, New. York. 1 vol. 12mo. 

MY SAVIOUR: or Devotional Meditations on the Name and Titles 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. By the Rev. John East ISmo. 50. cts. 

HOBART'S EDITION OP D'OYLY & MANT'S BIBLE, 

according to the Authorised Version : with Notes, Explanatory and Prac- 
tical ; taken principally from the most eminent writers of the United 
Churches of England and Ireland : together with Appropriate Introduc- 
tion, Tables and Index. Prepared and arranged by the Rev. George 
D'Oyly, B. D. and the Rev. Richard Mant, D. D. : under the direc- 
tion of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ; for the use of 
Families ; with a large number of Additional Notes ; selected and arrang- 
ed by John Henry Hobart, D. D., late Bishop of the Prot. Epis. 
Church in the State of New-York — bound in 2 and 3 vols. Also the 
New Testament separately. 1 vol. $2 50. This work should be in every 
Church family. It embodies within itself a complete Library of Prac- 
tical divinity* furnishing the opinion on sacred subjects of nearly 300 
Divines of the Church of England and America. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



